Cricket South Africa (CSA) has officially launched the 2026/27 domestic cricket season, unveiling a refreshed brand identity and competition structure designed to create more opportunities and excitement across the domestic game.
At the heart of the new identity is a streamlined competition structure that brings together the former T20 Challenge and T20 Knockout competitions under one unified premier T20 brand, the Pro20 Cup.
The new-look domestic structure will see Division 1’s 50-over competition known as the Dafabet Pro50, while the traditional red-ball competition will be branded the 1st Class Series.
Division 2 will compete in the 1st Class Shield (3Day Series) and the Dafabet Pro 50 Shield (1Day), respectively.
The summer’s biggest domestic competition will be the expanded 16-team Pro20, with teams from both Division 1 and Division 2 and an SA Emerging side in a single competition.
The Promotion/Relegation structure will continue over a two-year period, excluding the Pro20 competition.
The Hollywoodbets Pro Series will continue to serve as the premier women’s domestic competition, featuring the Hollywoodbets Pro50 and Hollywoodbets Pro20.
Division 1 teams will play at least three additional red-ball matches, while Division 2 will adopt a double-round format, providing players with greater opportunities to develop their skills in the longer format.
Mark Your Calendars! 🗓️
— CSA Domestic Leagues (@DomesticCSA) August 27, 2026
The road ahead is set. 👊
Here are the key dates for the upcoming domestic season, with all the action across South Africa’s domestic competitions ready to get underway. 🏏🇿🇦#Unbreakable #DCSA pic.twitter.com/5mb3bDomzQ
NEW CHAPTER IN DOMESTIC CRICKET
As part of the refreshed competition identity, Dafabet comes on board as the official competition partner of the Pro50 competitions in both divisions, strengthening its existing relationship with CSA.
Dafabet is already associated with CSA as a headline events partner for test and One-Day International cricket, as well as the back-of-shirt sponsor of the Proteas Men and Proteas Women.
CSA Chief Executive Officer, Pholetsi Moseki, commented.
“The 2026/27 season marks an exciting new chapter for domestic cricket in South Africa. We have taken a deliberate approach to simplify and strengthen the way our competitions are positioned, creating a clear identity that fans, players, partners and stakeholders can connect with.
“Bringing the T20 Challenge and T20 Knockout together under the Pro20 banner gives us one strong, unified T20 competition that brings together 16 teams and creates a bigger platform for our players and teams to compete, perform and build their reputations.
“At the same time, the Pro50 and the 1st Class Series competitions reinforce the importance of both white-ball and red-ball cricket within our domestic system. The increased number of first-class matches is particularly important as we continue to develop players capable of competing successfully at international level.
“We are also delighted to welcome Dafabet as the competition partner of the Pro50. Their continued investment in South African cricket demonstrates the strength of our partnership and their commitment to the domestic game. These competitions will provide an exciting platform for players, teams and fans as we build towards another important period in South African cricket.”
The Beginning of A New Season! 🏏
— CSA Domestic Leagues (@DomesticCSA) August 27, 2026
Today, we officially launched the 2026/27 Domestic Cricket South Africa season as we look ahead to another exciting chapter of cricket. 🇿🇦
From the Hollywoodbets ProSeries to all the men’s domestic competitions, the stage is set for new… pic.twitter.com/pVu75mAr2O