Former South African captain and Commissioner of SA20, Graeme Smith, has made it clear that they would welcome MS Dhoni to the league with an open heart whenever he would be eligible to offer his services to Cricket South Africa’s new franchise T20 league.

Notably, Dhoni retired from international cricket back in 2020, but he is still an active player in the Indian Premier League (IPL), and until he is associated with the BCCI, the legendary player can’t take part in any other overseas league at any capacity.

Given that, the Commissioner of SA20 said that South Africa shares a great relationship with the BCCI, and they remain hopeful of Dhoni's association with the SA20 league in the near future.

Read Also: IPL 2023: WATCH- CSK skipper MS Dhoni begins his preparations for the IPL 16

Graeme Smith was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times: “It would be amazing to have a player like him. But as I have previously said, we always work with and respect the BCCI. The fact that we have created such a nice working relationship with them and have been able to talk to them and learn from them.”

He further said, “I mean, they are hugely experienced in doing such events like the IPL or the World Cup. And it is a very important relationship to have for the SAT20. From our perspective, we looked at it, we have one or two opportunities. But one thing we really wanted to build was a young and vibrant and really competitive cricket league.”

Smith signed off by saying, “And someone like an MS would of course add a lot of value to our league. He has been able to perform and maintain performance for a very long time in this profession and would bring a level to the league which we will be proud to have. But if there is ever an opportunity I would definitely be reaching out to Mahi.”