Former South Africa captain and SA20 League Commissioner Graeme Smith feels the rise of Matthew Breetzke is a reflection of the growth of SA20 league.
Breetzke made a smashing ODI debut scoring a sensational 150 against New Zealand in the tri-series underway in Pakistan.
"For me it is fantastic because we are starting to see how SA20 is reflecting the IPL. When IPL started the idea was to expose young Indian talent to world class players and pressure situations and give them that global platform and a similar thing is happening at SA20 now. Now these young players coming through the line can potentially play for India and South Africa. SA take a team to the triangular series which doesn't have a lot of superstars but you still have a player can Bretzkee, who is an up and coming player and a massive hundred on debut. He has got huge potential definitely and I think he is starting to build confidence and exposure is good for him," he added.
Smith was elated with the growth of the SA20 and saw parallels to the Indian Premier League (IPL).
"For me it is fantastic because we are starting to see how SA20 is reflecting the IPL. When IPL started the idea was to expose young Indian talent to world class players and pressure situations and give them that global platform and a similar thing is happening at SA20 now. Now these young players coming through the line can potentially play for India and South Africa. SA take a team to the triangular series which doesn't have a lot of superstars but you still have a player can Bretzkee, who is an up and coming player and a massive hundred on debut. He has got huge potential definitely and I think he is starting to build confidence and exposure is good for him," he added.
The former South Africa skipper felt there were areas with scope for improvement and challenges.
"We need to reflect upon the event. Look at areas where we can improve upon. It went really well. Fan entertainment was good, from a competition perspective it was good as well with MI Cape Town winning. Setting the tournament alive was increase in the tournament viewership and sold-out games at the venues. I think the challenge will be to improve the facilities with the 2027 ODI World Cup in mind. Getting the stadiums and pitches back in track, floodlights. The whole investment that is required in our cricket areas is done," he added.
Smith stated that there was pressure from fans to increase franchises but he was not looking at it now.
"There is some pressure from fans to add a new product. We are looking to get approached by teams. I think we are committed to the six franchises that are already in the fray in SA20. We committed five years before adding any other franchise. It's important to build on some talented South African cricketers. When IPL decided to grow there was a huge pool of players. But for the first five years there won't be any growth," he added.
