Grab a chair, because Joburg Super Kings just did the sporting equivalent of cleaning out the garage before a big move — and one of the boxes they put on the curb had Faf du Plessis' name on it.
This comes just weeks after JSK handed the head coach job to Albie Morkel, promoted from within the franchise's own coaching setup — so the roster reshuffle below is effectively the first real squad Morkel gets to call his own.
JSK have announced their retained and pre-signed players ahead of SA20 Season 5 (2027). Nine retentions, three overseas pre-signings, and a release list long enough to double as a "Where Are They Now" reunion special. Let's get into it — stats included, sympathy optional.
Retained Players: The Core Stays Yellow
Nine names get to keep their JSK jersey without having to sweat through the auction room:
- Donovan Ferreira — the franchise's Swiss Army knife, and it's not close. 555 runs at a strike rate of 154.6, with the ball 16 wickets for JSK, plus 3 Player of the Match awards — bat, ball, gloves, whatever the day needs. The kind of player you retain first and ask questions never.
- Leus du Plooy — quietly JSK's second-highest run-getter ever: 829 runs at a strike rate of 144.7, with 3 Player of the Match awards of his own. Not a household name outside SA20 circles, but the numbers say he should be.
- Rilee Rossouw — the retention that raises an eyebrow on the raw numbers (99 runs, SR 137.5, across a small sample so far), but a genuine top-order name with a bigger reputation than his JSK ledger currently shows. Retained on potential and pedigree as much as stats to date.
- Prenelan Subrayen — bought by JSK for R1 million at the 2025 auction after starting out as a Durban's Super Giants spinner, and has made the move look like a steal. Ripped through his old side with 3/16, taking Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, and Jos Buttler in the same spell, then backed it up with a match-winning 3-14 to help JSK into the playoffs. A genuine new-ball-breakthrough-plus-death-overs package, and already has a Player of the Match award to show for it.
- Jarren Bacher — a young all-rounder with an interesting cricketing pedigree (grandson of former Proteas captain and administrator Ali Bacher). Originally in as a net bowler for other franchises, he got his SA20 break as Donovan Ferreira's replacement and has since stuck around long enough to earn a genuine retention — reportedly also picking up an invite to train at the CSK academy ahead of an upcoming IPL season.
- Dian Forrester — the highest strike rate of anyone in this squad who's faced 100+ balls: 175 runs at SR 165.1. Also freshly signed as an injury replacement at Texas Super Kings in MLC 2026 — busy man, this one, MLC in the US and SA20 back home. The passport's getting a workout.
- Janco Smit — a young right-arm fast-medium bowler who made his SA20 debut in 2025/26, and immediately made an impression by dismissing T20 gun Dewald Brevis in just his second appearance, helping JSK to a 22-run win. Still building a first-class career (debut in April 2025), but the kind of prospect franchises like to lock down early.
- Duan Jansen — 7 wickets in a JSK shirt so far, a promising young quick keeping his spot.
- Matthew de Villiers — an opener who forced his way in as injury cover for Brandon King and made himself hard to leave out, finishing as the CSA T20 Challenge's top run-scorer in a separate domestic campaign (394 runs at an average of 65.66, SR 141.21, five fifties). His actual SA20 numbers for JSK are more modest so far — 151 runs at SR 116.15 across 11 matches — but the domestic form suggests there's more in the tank.
A solid, homegrown-heavy core — and the numbers back the calls, even if a couple of names (looking at you, Rossouw) are being retained on reputation as much as record.
Pre-Signings (Overseas): The Imports
JSK went shopping abroad and came back with a genuinely handy trio:
- Akeal Hosein — left-arm spin, white-ball pedigree, and not a stranger to this dressing room: 7 wickets already in JSK colours, the kind of bowler captains love in the middle overs. What makes him unusual: Hosein is one of the very few spinners anywhere who actually opens the bowling with the new ball, using drift and a seam-up arm ball to attack the powerplay rather than waiting for the middle overs like most finger-spinners — he's taken wickets in double figures in that phase, a rare feat for a slow left-armer. And here's the fun part: Hosein might be the closest thing to a genuine "whole Super Kings family" player going around. He's featured for Texas Super Kings in MLC (10 wickets in 7 games at an average of 9.60 during a 2025 stint as a Mitchell Marsh replacement), was bought by Chennai Super Kings at the IPL 2026 auction for ₹2 crore to bolster the spin attack post-Jadeja, and now he's back with Joburg Super Kings in SA20. IPL, MLC, SA20 — one player, three different Super Kings jerseys, same shade of yellow.
- Jason Holder — a Test captain's résumé doing T20 duty, and he's arriving fresh off a title. Holder took 3/31 in the MLC 2026 final, ripping through Washington Freedom's middle order to help LA Knight Riders win their maiden MLC title in a one-run thriller. He's also just become the first West Indian bowler to reach 100 T20I wickets, and at the IPL 2026 auction he sparked an actual bidding war between CSK and Gujarat Titans before GT won him for ₹7 crore. Height, seam, big-game temperament — genuinely a proper get for JSK.
- James Vince — a returning face for the franchise, and a productive one: 263 runs at a strike rate of 152.9 the last time he wore the jersey. English elegance meets Highveld pace and bounce.
Between Hosein and Holder alone, that's two-fifths of a very handy West Indies attack playing under the Super Kings badge. Not bad business.
Released Players: Where the Drama Lives
Here's the full release list — and yes, we need to talk about the first name on it.
- Faf du Plessis 😳
- Wiaan Mulder
- Nandre Burger
- Daniel Worrall
- Reece Topley
- Imran Tahir
- Rivaldo Moonsamy
- Neil Timmers
- Jorich van Schalkwyk
- Steve Stolk
- Shubham Ranjane
- Brandon King
- Michael Pepper
- Richard Gleeson
Wait — Faf du Plessis is released?
Yep. And here's the part that makes it sting: Faf isn't just the outgoing captain, he's the franchise's greatest-ever batter, by a mile.
- 1,029 runs — comfortably the most in JSK history, 200 clear of du Plooy in second place.
- Strike rate of 143.9, with 104 fours and 43 sixes.
- 6 Player of the Match awards — double anyone else in this squad.
That's not a fading veteran being quietly moved on. That's the franchise's all-time leading run-scorer, its most decorated match-winner, and its captain for four seasons, all shown the door in one release list. Reports have called it exactly what it looks like: a genuine shock, arguably the single biggest headline of SA20's entire retention window this year, across any franchise.
No new captain has been confirmed yet — that call will presumably land closer to, or at, the Player Auction on October 7, 2026, where JSK reportedly still need to fill out six more squad spots, tied with MI Cape Town for the most work left to do among all six franchises.
Also on the way out: Richard Gleeson (9 wickets for JSK), who once starred alongside Ferreira in SA20's first-ever Super Over thriller — proof that even the good memories don't guarantee a contract renewal. Imran Tahir goes too, still picking up wickets (18) well into cricketing immortality. And Nandre Burger leaves as JSK's joint-highest wicket-taker in franchise history (20) — expensive at the death, but a genuine volume threat with the new ball. Releasing a co-leading wicket-taker alongside your all-time leading run-scorer is quite the clearout. Cricket, as always, does not care about your feelings.
The Big Picture
Most of the roster logic checks out: JSK have kept their most productive, versatile core (Ferreira, du Plooy, Forrester), added serious overseas depth (Holder, Hosein, Vince), and moved on from players who either didn't fire consistently or were carrying the wrong kind of mileage. The Faf call is the one that doesn't fit that pattern — you don't usually release your franchise's all-time top scorer and most-decorated match-winner as a cost-cutting or form decision. This one reads like a straightforward "time for a new era" call, stats be damned.
It's a bold move either way. No matter how many runs you scored or trophies you chased for the badge, the badge doesn't always give it back. Six auction slots still to fill, a new captain still to be named, and a fanbase still processing the Faf news — SA20 Season 5 is shaping up to be a lot more interesting than a "retentions" announcement usually is. 🦁💛