Graeme Smith: a former South African cricket player and current SA20 League Commissioner, commended the league’s robust expansion, pointing to better attendance and viewership in the first two weeks of the current season.

He also emphasized how the level of cricket has improved and expressed optimism about the tournament’s successful conclusion.

After one month of T20 activity in the Rainbow Nation, the SA20 2025–26 season will end on January 25. It began on December 26.

Speaking to the media about the T20 league in South Africa, Graeme Smith said that SA20 has clearly improved in its first few weeks, with high attendance, more viewing, and a better environment. Given that the league is just halfway through, he expressed hope regarding fan enthusiasm and a successful season finale.Over the first two weeks, there has been a noticeable increase in audience size, attendance, and general ambiance. It’s pretty thrilling because the cricket itself has been really powerful. The weather is not always predictable. Particularly with a game every day and frequent travel, unseasonal fronts in certain regions of South Africa provide difficulties. But for now, I believe we just need to maintain our optimism. There is still a lot more cricket to be played. The former Proteas captain said, “We’re only halfway through the season, and I can just feel the number of people that are talking, wanting to come to games.”The fact that the spectators haven’t departed despite one or two games being rained out proves that, in my opinion, the product has definitely improved this year. It’s our responsibility to remain upbeat, and we continue to strive for a successful season finale,” he said.

Smith mentioned the increase in ticket sales as one of the main markers of SA20’s success, indicating the league’s increasing appeal.The number of tickets has significantly increased. Compared to the same time last year, I believe we have already sold out four more games. Why has ticket sales increased by more than 27 or 28% in the first half of the season? Both here and in India, viewership is increasing, and digital growth is increasing.

Smith praised better pitches and tough matches, saying that cricket quality is another important indicator of SA20’s success. He also expressed optimism that standards would keep rising in the next weeks.The cricket, in my opinion, has always been the other measure that matters to me. In my opinion, the pitches have consistently been somewhat better than they were the previous season. Closer games, super-overs, hundreds, hat-tricks, and several last-over endings have all been seen. I believe that this year’s cricket has been of very high level. Graeme Smith said, “I’m hoping that over the next two weeks, we’ll really see that stay the same or even get better.”