They have roped in two Mumbai Indians (MI) players.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC), a sister franchise of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), have made bold moves ahead of the SA20 2026 auction, securing a few key signings. They have roped in two Mumbai Indians (MI) players, Jonny Bairstow, a wicketkeeper batter who came as a temporary replacement, and Allah Ghazanfar, a mystery off-spinner who was ruled out of IPL 2025 due to an injury.
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56/3
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209/7
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173/2
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36/2
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55/2
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118/3
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Bairstow has fallen off the radar, but has performed slightly better lately in the IPL and T20 Blast 2025, which may be a reason behind the franchise showing interest in him. He recently amassed a fabulous ton against Lancashire in the T20 Blast 2025.
Meanwhile, Ghazanfar is an exciting signing and massively boosts SEC’s spin department. After returning from the injury, he played for Derbyshire in the T20 Blast and performed exceptionally well.
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He took 16 wickets at an average of 24.25 and a 20.62 in 14 innings, including a best of 2/5. There’s also some batting value as well, depicted by his strike rate of 148.64 in the competition, and Ghazanfar can be a threatening option if the pitches remain the same as last season in SA20.
In what comes as a huge move, Aiden Markram will be in the auction after deciding against being retained by the SRH franchise. He led them to two consecutive titles in the initial two years, and the final of the previous edition, where they fell short against MI Cape Town.
He is also their leading run-scorer, with 967 runs at an average of 34.53 and a 131.38 strike rate in 34 outings, including five fifties and a century. However, the move to go in the auction is understandable, for his value will be high and several teams will go after him due to his batting and captaincy credentials.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape have a Right To Match (RTM) option available and can use it on Markram in the auction. There’s a possibility SEC will use it on their star player, even if his price is high.
Additionally, they have retained Tristan Stubbs and signed Marco Jansen as a wild card player before the auction. Both have been with the franchise since the start of the competition and played crucial roles in making them the most successful team in the competition’s history.
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