Chris Gayle, Kevin Pietersen among marquee players for inaugural CSA T20 league

New Delhi: Dashing T20 players Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Kevin Pietersen are among eight marquee internationals, who will be representing various franchises in the inaugural edition of Cricket South Africa’s #T20 Global Destination League. The other five marquee stars are Lasith Malinga, Jason Roy, Eoin Morgan, Dwayne Bravo and Brendon McCullum. All these players have a contract for two years. The eight international marquee players will be entered into a mini-draft with the highest bidding franchise owner having first pick and the rest following the same process. [caption id=“attachment_2709774” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of Chris Gayle. Getty Images[/caption] Franchise owners will be asked to consider the fact that some of these players, by virtue of having played for some years in South Africa, already hold strong ties to certain cities in South Africa. Each franchise team will also be allocated a Proteas marquee player. “We are thrilled by the calibre of the top eight international players we have lined up to participate in our new #T20 Global Destination League,” commented CSA Chief Executive, Haroon Lorgat adding: “They are all stars in their own right and will add great value to the franchise teams they will represent.” On his association, Pietersen commented:“South Africa, as everyone knows, is very close to my heart. So being a part of something innovative in their cricketing structure really excites me. I am sure the fans will support this wonderful creation which will showcase a lot of the world’s best players.” Gayle on his part said:“I look forward to returning to South Africa as I have very happy memories of my time there. This included scoring the first ever century in T20 International cricket when the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 was held in South Africa in 2007.” For McCullum playing the league was an easy decision. “I very much enjoy the conditions in South Africa and it was an easy decision to make myself available for this tournament. I enjoy the way South Africans play the game and the way their fans interact with the players as well.