Mzansi Super League to add two new teams for 2020 season

The Mzansi Super League (MSL) will be expanded by two teams starting from the upcoming season, Cricinfo reports.

The competition is scheduled to return for a third edition in December, and will be broadcast on pay television, according to the publication.

Two new franchises set to compete in the Mzansi Super League

In the first two tournaments, the MSL featured six franchise – based in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Tshwane, Durban and Paarl.

Now, the participants will increase to eight with the addition of teams from Bloemfontein and East London.

The Bloem franchise will play its home games from Mangaung Oval, while the East London team will be based at Buffalo Park.

Both previous editions of the competition were aired on SABC after Supersport did not bid for broadcast rights. The public broadcaster was then awarded the rights at no cost.

MSL set for big overhaul

According to Cricinfo, Cricket South Africa (CSA) is still looking to offer the SABC some form of content, possibly match highlights.

After two seasons of the competition, CSA is yet to turn over a profit from the MSL and could struggle to do so once more, with the cost of running two extra teams.

The MSL was launched after the Global League T20 failed to take off, and has accumulated losses of over R200 million.

Johannesburg’s Jozi Stars were crowned champions in the inaugural season after beating Cape Town Blitz in the final at Newlands.

In 2019, two new teams contested the final, which was played in Paarl, where the home team, the Paarl Rocks overcame the Tshwane Spartans to clinch the title.

The MSL has attracted stars from across the world, including the likes of West Indies great, Chris Gayle and World Cup-winning England stars Moeen Ali and Jason Roy.

With the world currently gripped by a global pandemic, there is still uncertainty over when the 2020 season of the tournament will kick off.