Johannesburg [South Africa], May 20 (ANI): Former South African cricketer Faf du Plessis believes SA20 deserves credit for providing youngsters in the country with a platform to showcase their talent on the biggest stage and get noticed, as well as the recent performances of South Africa's men's team in the ICC events, including the 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) triumph at Lord's last year.

As many as 21 South African players are part of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 edition, with 17 originally featuring in the squads of the 10 teams, either retained or picked at the player auction, according to an SA20 release.

Faf du Plessis said the SA20 has played a key role in creating more opportunities for South African cricketers and showcasing the depth of talent in the country. He noted that in the past, only a small number of top players typically featured in the IPL, but that is now changing as more players are being recognised and selected.

'When it comes to opportunity, you have to credit the SA20. People are finally seeing the depth of the talent pool in South Africa. In the past, you only saw our marquee national players in the IPL - maybe six or seven guys, plus one or two youngsters who came out of nowhere. It was never a high number,' Faf du Plessis told SA20 on his return after a successful broadcasting stint in the IPL.

'With the SA20 being broadcast to the whole world over the last four years, everyone can see there is so much more talent beyond the starting XI. Yes, the national side consists of incredible players, but much like in India and the IPL, there's a massive group underneath them waiting for an opportunity who are just as dangerous in the T20 format,' Du Plessis added.

Faf du Plessis said that countries like India now have such strong depth that they can field second- or third-string teams, and believes South Africa is developing similar strength. He said that in the past, the national side was vulnerable to a few injuries, but that is changing.

'India can pick a second or third-string team because of their depth, and you can now say the same about South Africa. For a long time, I felt the national team was just a couple of injuries away from being knocked out of contention at an ICC event,' du Plessis further said.

The 41-year-old elaborated by giving the example of the Australian side, explaining how leagues were previously dominated by Australian players and how the global spotlight is slowly shifting towards the Proteas after reaching a couple of white-ball finals and winning the ICC World Test Championship mace.

'For years and years in the IPL, you saw a majority of Australians playing. That was largely because there were - and still are - a lot of Australian coaches, so they naturally gravitated towards their own players. For a long time, Australian cricket was seen as the pinnacle globally, so teams looked up to them. However, South Africa making a couple of white-ball finals over the last few World Cups and winning the World Test Championship has put us back in the global spotlight as a proper cricketing nation,' he said.

Connor Esterhuizen, who impressed everyone with his exploits for SA20 2025/26 finalists Pretoria Capitals, earned an opportunity with the Gujarat Titans as a replacement player and similarly did Dian Forrester for the Chennai Super Kings. Forrester played a few impressive knocks for the Joburg Super Kings (JSK) in the SA20, followed by an opportunity in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) for Rawalpindi, where he struck at 171.42 while averaging 44.

Du Plessis further weighed in on his commentary stint in the IPL, clarifying that he still has plenty left in him as a player and will be seen in a JSK shirt in the next edition of the Betway SA20, but because of his long rehab period, he got a window of a few weeks to head over to India and dip his toes into commentary.

'When stepping into a new venture surrounded by commentators who have been doing it for years, you try to find your own label. One of those areas is my recency of playing with the current players. Another area I was clear on is that when you've captained for a long time, you develop a sense for explaining and reading the game. Obviously, all players can read the game, but from a captaincy point of view, you have to articulate what you are seeing and experiencing - whether to fellow players, coaches, or the press. That isn't always easy to answer, and you have to learn how to do it,' he said.

'For me, leaning on that experience was a great way to find my own voice in the commentary space, and I really enjoyed it,' Du Plessis added while stressing that the major learning curve for him was using his voice and letting the emotions come out more than he would while giving an interview or speaking in a dressing room.

'One major learning curve is realising that speaking normally doesn't always work in commentary. You have to convey emotion through your voice so the listener can feel the stadium's atmosphere, even if they can't see the game. Going through the gears in terms of excitement and living within the game is where I realised I need to do the most work. In commentary, the audience can't see you, so your tone and pacing are the only ways to transmit that energy,' the former South African batter said.

The fifth season of SA20 will begin on January 9, 2027, and run until February 14. (ANI)