Speaking to ESPNcricinfo ahead of the close of player registrations for this year\u2019s auction, Smith said: \u201cIn the southern hemisphere window we want to dominate and we want to be the biggest league outside the IPL. Three years in, we've set the standard. Every decision we make is around making sure that we uphold those standards.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The SA20 enters its fourth season on Boxing Day with all six franchises owned by IPL stakeholders and boasting the second-highest salary cap in world cricket at R41 million (US$2.31m). That figure, Smith believes, underlines the league\u2019s claim to be the \u201cnext-best\u201d after the IPL. A marquee auction is scheduled for September 9 in Johannesburg, with player registration closing on August 18.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Smith\u2019s remarks come less than two weeks after Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg told SEN Radio that the BBL would \u201cunashamedly\u201d pursue second place in the global pecking order by exploring privatisation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be very hard to chase the IPL, given the scale of cricket in India,\u201d Greenberg said, \u201cbut unashamedly, we want to run a league that comes second\u2026 and to do that you need money, you need investment.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
With the BBL running in the same January window, questions over player availability loom large. Yet Smith remains confident. While Australia\u2019s Test stars are rarely free for the BBL, South Africa\u2019s international and domestic players will prioritise the SA20 even at the expense of national duty \u2014 as seen last year when an understrength side toured New Zealand while the main squad remained home.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
That move drew criticism at the time, but Smith said the World Test Championship victory proved formats can co-exist: \u201cEveryone was worried that we were going to destroy Test cricket but we\u2019ve seen our national team go on to win the World Test Championship final. We\u2019ve all played our role in the ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The SA20 has also benefited from international star power, particularly England\u2019s white-ball cricketers, though the upcoming Ashes may limit availability this season.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Jos Buttler has already been pre-signed by Durban\u2019s Super Giants, but Smith expects a lively auction with only 13 of 36 available slots filled by South African players. \u201cI expected a lot more top South African players to pre-sign and that didn\u2019t happen,\u201d he said. \u201cFrom our perspective it\u2019s set up a very exciting auction with a very big purse.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The SA20 has also benefited from international star power, particularly England\u2019s white-ball cricketers, though the upcoming Ashes may limit availability this season.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The fourth season of the SA20 will run over the festive period, with no home Tests scheduled for South Africa this summer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n