In the current first season of SA20, the Joburg Super Kings have elected to replace Harry Brook with Sibonelo Makhanya. After being selected in the IPL auction for a large sum, England’s new batting star Harry Brook withdrew from SA20 2023, claiming workload difficulties. He is also set to be included in England’s One-Day International team for the series against South Africa later this month.
Returning to Makhanya, he is presently enjoying a purple patch on the cricket pitch. He guided the Titans to the CSA T20 Challenge victory last year. Aside from the Titans’ collective achievement, the young cricketer demonstrated his individual prowess by hitting 119 runs in six innings with a strike rate of 119.
Sibonelo Makhanya will be seeking to capitalise on his recent success and play a significant part in the Joburg Super Kings’ next season. Notably, the middle-order hitter has some experience with the shortest format, having scored 818 runs in 74 outings with a strike rate of 114.8.
While the Johannesburg-based club will be pleased with the replacement, they will still be trying to overcome Harry Brook’s departure since they paid a lot of money to get him.
Brook’s name was offered for a starting price of R850,000 in the first SA20 auction. Despite this, the Joberg Super Kings were able to sign him for a whopping R2.1 million following a heated bidding battle with the Paarl Royals.
Following the purchase of Harry Brook by the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2023 auction last month, the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) reportedly requested that the Super Kings withdraw his name, citing workload management as the middle-order sensation represents the Three Lions across formats.
Meanwhile, the Super Kings started their SA20 2023 campaign with a victory against the Durban Super Giants, but have since lost to the Paarl Royals and MI Cape Town. They will be trying to return to winning ways when they play Pretoria Capitals on Tuesday, January 17 at the Wanderers Stadium.
