Kane Williamson and Chris Woakes sign up for Durban's Super Giants ahead of SA20 2025

Durban's Super Giants have roped in New Zealand superstar Kane Williamson and England allrounder Chris Woakes for the next season of SA20. Both players will be plying their trade in the South African competition for the very first time.

The SA20 franchises are allowed to sign the players till August 31 while the last date for player retentions was July 21. The much-awaited SA20 2025 is scheduled to take place from January 9 to February 8 next year. Last month, Kane Williamson had confirmed that he would be playing in the South African league next year after declining the central contract.

"There's a number of great competitions on during that time, but SA20 looks really exciting. Unfortunately, it meant turning down a central contract, however my priority still is, absolutely, playing for New Zealand. Think I miss maybe a handful of games over a three-week period," Williamson had said.

In addition to declining the central contract, Williamson had also stepped down as New Zealand's white-ball captain. The right-handed batsman has ample experience playing franchise cricket and will be looking to hit the ground running in SA20.

Don't try reading Kesh's lips 👀 #NewSigning pic.twitter.com/5boesg8t6K

— Durban's Super Giants (@DurbansSG) July 26, 2024

Williamson has played for Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League. He has also plied his trade for Barbados Tridents in the Caribbean Premier League.

Woakes, on the other hand, has fallen down the pecking order in England's white-ball setup and will be looking to make an impact in SA20. The veteran allrounder has previously played in the IPL, ILT20, and the Big Bash League. Apart from Woakes, England star Joe Root also signed up for Paarl Royals while Ben Stokes is also in contention to sign up for MI Cape Town ahead of SA20 2025.

Durban's Super Giants eye maiden title:

After signing up two big names in Kane Williamson and Chris Woakes, Durban's Super Giants will be hoping to win their maiden SA20 title next year. In the last season, they qualified for the final but ended up losing the title decider against reigning champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape.