After retiring from international cricket, Ajinkya Rahane may have another chance to establish himself in franchise cricket with the SA20. Former South Africa all-rounder Chris Morris has supported the notion, stating that Rahane’s experience, composure, and leadership abilities would make him an invaluable asset to any team. Morris also highlighted how veteran Indian players can assist outside of the field by drawing a contrast to Dinesh Karthik’s influence at the Paarl Royals. Rahane has already begun a new phase of his post-retirement career by signing with Amsterdam Flames for the first European T20 Premier League.

Morris said that Rahane would be a fantastic addition to the South African franchise league as well, given his participation in the ETPL and Dinesh Karthik’s success previously.

“Absolutely! I mean, he brings a wealth of experience and is a world-class human being in general. I spent a bit of time in the changing room with him, and he’s just a wonderful human being. When you’ve got someone like that with the experience and the calmness under pressure, I think he would be someone that people would want to look after. We saw how Dinesh Karthik’s impact worked for the Paarl Royals when he joined their squad. By all accounts—first of all, again, great human being—he’s never scared to share an opinion or share the way he thinks about the game, and the success that came was because of that character,” Chris Morris said in an interaction facilitated by SA20 ahead of the Season 5 Auction while answering to a question asked by Times Now.

“Jinks is very much the same. He’s a quality player, quality human being, captained in the IPL, and he’s played for India for many, many years. So, you bring that experience into a changing room, and all it can do is really guide your youngsters into a direction of how they want to play the game. And let’s not talk about his cricket alone—just the way he bats, the way he gets on with it. He’s very capable of scoring T20 hundreds with his eyes closed in my opinion, still. Look, if he comes over, I think he’d be a great addition to any squad because he’s a quality cricketer, but even more a quality human being,” he added.

Many elite international players have signed with SA20 this time. The six SA20 teams have secured their core squads ahead of the Season 5 auction on October 7. Australia’s T20 captain Mitchell Marsh will make his SA20 debut for three-time champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape, while England all-rounder Sam Curran will wear the Durban’s Super Giants jersey after transferring from MI Cape Town.

At Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC), Marsh will form a formidable batting lineup alongside Quinton de Kock, Matthew Breetzke, Jordan Hermann, and captain Tristan Stubbs. Meanwhile, Curran, who played for MI Cape Town during the first two seasons, will partner with his England teammate Jos Buttler.

For the forthcoming season of the T20 tournament, Joe Root, who forged a strong opening partnership with young Lhuan-dre Pretorius for the Paarl Royals a few seasons ago, will return to Boland Park.