The player auction for the fifth season of South Africa's SA20 League took place on 7 October 2026. The fate of a total of 19 players was to be decided in this auction, which was limited to just one hour. The most expensive player of this short auction became South Africa's 18-year-old rising star Jason Rolls, for whom Joburg Super Kings spent a huge amount of Rs 1.68 crore to include in the team. This young player, who made a splash with his amazing all-round performance in Under-19 cricket, is being considered as the future superstar. This was the reason that there was a competition among the franchises to get him in their fold and the excitement of the auction reached the seventh sky.

James Rolls sold for Rs 1.68 crore

There was a tough fight between Joburg Super Kings (JSK) and MI Cape Town to buy 18-year-old rising all-rounder James Rolls in the SA20 auction. As soon as the name of this young player came up in the auction, both the teams started placing bids continuously, due to which his price increased very rapidly. In the end, MI Cape Town backed out and Joburg Super Kings included James Rolls in their team by making a big bid of 2.9 million Rand (about Rs 1.68 crore).

Faf du Plessis also becomes part of Joburg Super Kings

Interestingly, just before James Rolls, Joburg Super Kings had also placed a bet on former South African captain Faf du Plessis, who had retired from international cricket. JSK brought Du Plessis back into their team for Rs 1.57 crore (2.7 million rand). With the arrival of these two big players, the squad of Super Kings looks very balanced and strong for the upcoming season.

James Rolls' amazing journey so far

This 18-year-old African spin all-rounder has just started in domestic cricket, but he has left a deep impression in his short career. James Rolls has played 5 List-A (domestic ODI) matches so far, in which he has scored 109 runs at an average of 21.80. During this period, he has also scored one brilliant half-century. While showing the power of his spin bowling, he has also taken 3 wickets.

Talking about T20 format, Rolls has got a chance to play only 1 match so far, but he made a splash in this only match. In this match, along with playing an excellent inning of 45 runs, he also took 1 wicket. Seeing his all-round performance and ability in both batting and bowling departments, cricket experts are considering him as a big superstar of the future.