Former Sri Lanka captain and Royals’ Director of Cricket, Kumar Sangakkarra, believes the Betway SA20 has the potential to “be a really important part of the international cricketing calendar.”
The Sri Lankan legend, who struck 28 016 international runs across formats and is also a former ICC Men’s T20 World Cup winner, was in South Africa watching over the Paarl Royals - the sister team of the inaugural Indian Premier League winners Rajasthan Royals.
“It is great to be back here in South Africa. I was last here about 10 years ago. It is brilliant to come and be part of this experience,” Sangakkara said.
“I knew last year was fantastic for players and staff, but to experience this for the first time has been amazing. It’s an amazing venue here in Paarl.
“The feel of the tournament and the potential of it is so exciting. We are very happy as a franchise that we are the Paarl Royals and playing in this League.”
Sangakkarra was a fierce competitor on the field throughout his career, but he also formed lasting relationships too with former Proteas captain and Betway SA20 League Commissioner Graeme Smith.
The 46-year-old feels that “Smithy” and his team have the potential to grow South Africa’s premier domestic T20 competition into a truly global event.
“He (Smith) has been brilliant. He has been truly professional in the way he runs the tournament,” Sangakkara said.
“He has set it up in a way that could be huge in terms of what it can deliver, not just in South Africa, but also for the franchise holders and be a really important part of the international cricketing calendar.”
The Paarl Royals will be looking to continue with their impressive start to their campaign when they face Joburg Super Kings (JSK) at Boland Park on Wednesday. David Miller’s team have a clean record with two wins out of two in what has been an action-packed opening week, which has seen two brilliant hundreds, high-scoring match-ups and last-ball thrillers.
JSK meanwhile, have been slow out of the blocks with only two points – from the rained out opening match- from three matches, and will be looking to bounce back after a less than ideal opening week.
The match will start at 17h30(SAST) local time.