England star Ben Stokes is reportedly set to join MI Cape Town to play in the upcoming edition of SA20, South Africa’s premier franchise league.

SA20 was launched in 2023 with a total of six teams. All teams are currently owned by the owners of the Indian Premier League. MI Cape Town is the partner team of the Mumbai Indians franchise, owned by the Ambanis.

According to a report by The Telegraph, Ben Stokes could play for the Cape Town-based franchise in the third edition of SA20. The report stated that the England captain has been offered up to £800,000 (approximately INR 8.65 crores) to play in the competition next January.

While Ben Stokes has stayed away from T20s in recent times, he remains one of the best all-rounders in the world. He has recently returned to bowling regularly, making him even more valuable. Part of the England squad that won the T20 World Cup in 2022, the veteran all-rounder has also enjoyed success in the IPL, where he was named MVP in 2017.

Ben Stokes to miss India series:

The report also stated that if Ben Stokes does sign up for MI Cape Town, he will play the entire SA20 and miss the 5-match T20I series against India. However, the England Test captain is not currently involved in England’s T20 squad after ruling himself out of the T20 World Cup last month to focus on the Test season.

Stokes could play the ODI series against India in February if he remains in England’s plans for the Champions Trophy. In that case, he might miss a few matches in the SA20. Talking about his T20 stats, Ben Stokes has played 43 T20Is so far and has picked up 26 wickets besides scoring more than 500 runs.

Currently, he is busy leading England in the ongoing three-match Test series against West Indies. England won the first Test by an innings and 114 runs to take the lead in the series. England is looking for their first Test series win since 2022 and would be banking on beating West Indies in the ongoing assignment.