MI Cape Town, the sister team of IPL franchise Mumbai Indians, announced on Thursday that they have signed their first five players ahead of the inaugural edition of the Cricket South Africa’s T20 League.

Rashid Khan and Kagiso Rabada headline the list for the Cape Town-based franchise. They are also joined by the hard-hitting Liam Livingstone, all-rounder Sam Curran and South Africa’s young prospect Dewald Brevis, who also plays for Mumbai Indians and made a good impression during the IPL 2022.

In an official statement released on the Mumbai Indians website, the team announced that they have signed the five players for the upcoming league.

“MI Cape Town, today announced the signing of 5 players ahead of the inaugural edition of Cricket South Africa’ T20 League. The players will join the #OneFamily team and will adorn the iconic blue and gold colors that the fans have come to recognize from the MI franchise. ‘MI Cape Town’ includes 3 foreign players, 1 South Africa capped and 1 South Africa uncapped player as part of the squad,” read the statement.

Akash Ambani, CEO of Reliance Jio, expressed his happiness in beginning the new journey with MI Cape Town. He also welcomed Khan, Rabada, Curran and Livingstone to the team and said he was happy that Brevis decided to continue his journey under the MI umbrella.

“I’m excited as we begin our journey in building “MI Cape Town”. With our direct player signings, we have taken the first step towards building the MI philosophy having a strong core around which the team will be planned. I am glad to welcome Rashid, Kagiso, Liam, Sam, to the #OneFamily and happy to have Dewald continue with us on this new journey. We are certain that MI Cape Town, like the two other teams, will play the brand of cricket MI is synonymous with-playing fearless cricket, and the same will resonate with the passionate cricket fans of South Africa and across the world,” said Ambani.

With the signings, MI Cape Town has put down the marker and many feel they’re the early favourites to lift the inaugural edition of the T20 League.

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