SA20 2025: MI Cape Town Rope in Stokes, Omarzai & Boult; Paarl Royals Sign Mujeeb Ahead of Next Season

MI Cape Town has roped in England Test captain and double white-ball World Cup winner Ben Stokes, along with star New Zealand swing-bowler Trent Boult and Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai for the upcoming season of the SA20.

Stokes is set to return to a happy hunting ground, Newlands, where he produced one of the greatest innings of all time when the flame-haired all-rounder struck a majestic 258 from 198 balls against the Proteas at the foot of Table Mountain.

Stokes has scored 3023 runs in 159 T20 matches at an average of 24.77 at a strike-rate of 133.23. Equally, he has claimed 90 wickets at an average of 30.38.

Stokes is currently injured after tearing a hamstring while playing for the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred and has been ruled out of the home series against Sri Lanka, but the all-rounder is expected to be fully fit for England's tour of Pakistan in October.

Meanwhile, Boult will now also join up with Stokes at MI Cape Town. Boult is regarded as one of the finest left-arm bowlers of his generation, having led the Black Caps attack during their golden era.

The 35-year-old was part of the Black Caps squad that reached successive ICC ODI World Cup finals - 2015 and 2019 - and also the ICC Men's T20 World Cup final in 2021.

"MI, MI Emirates, MI New York and now MI Cape Town. I'll be donning the Blue-and-Gold colours in the edition of SA20. Playing at the scenic Newlands is going to be special. I know, it's going to be Lekker," Boult was quoted in a release from MI Cape Town as saying.

Azmatullah Omarzai will link up with compatriot Rashid Khan in the MI Cape Town side during the next season of SA20. Here is a look at MI Cape Town's squad as it stands:

MI Cape Town 2025 Squad

Retained: Dewald Brevis, Connor Esterhuizen, Thomas Kaber, George Linde, Delano Potgieter, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Rassie van der Dussen, Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Chris Benjamin (England), Nuwan Thushara (Sri Lanka)
Pre-signings: Ben Stokes (England), Trent Boult (New Zealand), Azmatullah Omarzai (Afghanistan)

The Paarl Royals, on the other hand, have signed Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who is a familiar name on the T20 circuit with his variety and execution, having played 241 T20s in which he has accumulated 257 wickets at an impressive economy of 6.76.

The 23-year-old has played for a number of T20 franchises across the world including Paarl Royals' sister franchise Barbados Royals in the Caribbean Premier League. He has also played in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Mujeeb joins the likes of Dinesh Karthik, Joe Root, Jacob Bethell and Sam Hain as the pre-signings for Paarl Royals ahead of the new season. Here is a look at the Paarl Royals team as it stands:

Paarl Royals 2025 Squad

Retained: Keith Dudgeon, Bjorn Fortuin, Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Nqaba Peter, Andile Phehlukwayo, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Mitchell van Buuren, Codi Yusuf
Pre-signings: Joe Root (England), Dinesh Karthik (India), Jacob Bethell (England), Sam Hain (England), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan)