Jos Buttler, the former England captain, seemed to have left his days with the Royals franchise across leagues in the memory bin, having signed for the Durban's Super Giants for the fourth edition of the SA20. Buttler, who leads the Manchester Originals in the Hundred, now has RPSG Group's head honcho Sanjiv Goenka running the show after the partial sale of the franchises in England's 100-ball competition and decided to strengthen the partnership by being one of the three retained players for the Durban-based franchise in South Africa's T20 league.
Buttler, who missed last year's tournament, played for the first two seasons with the Paarl Royals and will now be partnering with someone like Heinrich Klaasen both at the Originals and for the Super Giants. The continuity factor excited Buttler the most since both teams have the same ownership and he hoped that he could come back again and again with the Super Giants.
"I've had (shared) a couple of messages with Dr Goenka, a quick phone call as well, which was obviously really nice. I think the thing that comes across when you speak is his passion. How much he loves his cricket. He wants to give you everything to help you be in the best place you can be," Buttler said in a DSG video.
"For me as a player and for the franchise to know there's a long-term relationship, obviously excited to get over there for my first year. And I'll look forward to coming back and back again.
"The franchise owns the team in the Hundred as well. So there's a lot of continuity there. So, that's a really nice place to be as a player," Buttler added. Buttler will be joining the likes of Sunil Narine, Heinrich Klaasen and Noor Ahmad in the pre-auction signings for DSG for SA20 2025-26.
Lance Klusener, who will continue as the head coach of DSG, was delighted with the four players the team decided to retain and sign while saying that Buttler and Narine will bring in a lot of T20 and leadership experience to the franchise.
"We are thrilled to continue our journey with Klaasen and Noor - both of whom have been phenomenal for DSG. Jos and Sunil bring leadership, experience, and match-winning ability that every team dreams of. We’re building a well-rounded squad that can adapt and dominate," Klusener added.
The auction takes place on September 9 as the teams finalise their squads for the fourth edition.