The Indian Premier League (IPL) needs no introduction as it is currently the biggest T20 league in world cricket. Now, the latest hot news is that the sport might witness a mini IPL real soon. Yes, you read it right. The leading IPL franchises have bagged teams in a brand-new T20 league.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has planned a fresh T20 tournament with six teams representing the six cities of South Africa. The upcoming league is called 'Mini IPL' on the internet because all the six teams in the auction were bought by the top IPL franchise owners. The bidding closed on Wednesday (13 July).

According to Cricbuzz, the owners of Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, SunRisers Hyderabad, Lucknow Super Giants and Rajasthan Royals have walked away with the available six franchises of CSA's new league, scheduled for early next year. It is being reported that CSK and MI owners have placed the biggest bids in the auction.

CSK's parent company clinched the franchise based in Johannesburg while MI's Reliance Industries bought the Cape Town franchise. The Sun TV Group (SRH owners) bagged the Port Elizabeth franchise and DC's co-owner will have the team based in Centurion in Pretoria. LSG's owner picked the Durban team while RR owners got the Paarl team.

As per the latest reports, the mini IPL (CSA's new T20 league) is tentatively scheduled to take place in January-February, 2023 while the actual IPL 2023 is scheduled for April-May. The big breaking is that Indian players won't be a part of this upcoming Mini IPL. A source says, "Faf du Plessis, one of the biggest T20 stars who is now a free agent, will stay in South Africa. Dwayne Bravo too will be there, most probably with the CSK-owned team."