Sunrisers Eastern Cape 2027: Squad, Schedule and Auction Updates
Sunrisers Eastern Cape enter Betway SA20 Season 5 as defending champions, with Tristan Stubbs as captain and Adrian Birrell as head coach. Their announced 2027 squad has 17 players, including new signings Mitchell Marsh and Rishad Hossain. Two places remain for the 7 October 2026 auction, with R3.6 million available.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape squad 2027
Sunrisers have retained 15 players and added two pre-signings. Marco Jansen remains their wildcard. The squad is still awaiting its final two additions.
The player statuses follow SA20’s official Season 5 squad announcement.
Players not retained
Jonny Bairstow, AM Ghazanfar, Beyers Swanepoel and Chris Wood are listed as not retained for Season 5. Bairstow is therefore absent from the announced 2027 squad.
| Player | Country | Season 5 status |
|---|---|---|
| Matthew Breetzke | South Africa | Retained |
| James Coles | England | Retained |
| Quinton de Kock | South Africa | Retained |
| Lewis Gregory | England | Retained |
| Jordan Hermann | South Africa | Retained |
| Marco Jansen | South Africa | Retained wildcard |
| CJ King | South Africa | Retained; Under-23 |
| JP King | South Africa | Retained |
| Patrick Kruger | South Africa | Retained |
| Adam Milne | New Zealand | Retained |
| Senuran Muthusamy | South Africa | Retained |
| Anrich Nortje | South Africa | Retained |
| Lutho Sipamla | South Africa | Retained |
| Tristan Stubbs | South Africa | Retained; captain |
| Mitchell van Buuren | South Africa | Retained |
| Mitchell Marsh | Australia | Pre-signed |
| Rishad Hossain | Bangladesh | Pre-signed |
Sunrisers Eastern Cape schedule 2027
Sunrisers Eastern Cape host Pretoria Capitals in the SA20 opening match on 17 January 2027 at St George’s Park, Gqeberha. Play starts at 15:30 SAST, which is 18:30 in Pakistan and 19:00 in India.
There are five home and five away league matches. All dates below are in 2027; times are South African Standard Time, SAST (UTC+2).
| Date | Opponent | Home/away | Venue | SAST |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 January | Pretoria Capitals | Home | St George’s Park, Gqeberha | 15:30 |
| 21 January | Durban’s Super Giants | Away | Kingsmead, Durban | 17:30 |
| 23 January | Joburg Super Kings | Away | Wanderers, Johannesburg | 17:30 |
| 26 January | Pretoria Capitals | Away | SuperSport Park, Centurion | 17:30 |
| 28 January | Joburg Super Kings | Home | St George’s Park, Gqeberha | 17:30 |
| 30 January | MI Cape Town | Home | St George’s Park, Gqeberha | 13:00 |
| 4 February | MI Cape Town | Away | Newlands, Cape Town | 17:30 |
| 6 February | Paarl Royals | Away | Boland Park, Paarl | 17:30 |
| 9 February | Durban’s Super Giants | Home | St George’s Park, Gqeberha | 17:30 |
| 13 February | Paarl Royals | Home | St George’s Park, Gqeberha | 17:30 |
See the full SA20 2027 schedule for the other teams’ fixtures and the playoff programme.
What Mitchell Marsh and Rishad Hossain add
Mitchell Marsh is set to make his SA20 debut with Sunrisers Eastern Cape. The Australian all-rounder gives the champions another attacking top-order option alongside Quinton de Kock, who was named Player of the Season in the previous campaign.
Marsh’s arrival adds competition for batting places in a squad that also retains Matthew Breetzke and Jordan Hermann. An opening partnership with de Kock is a possibility highlighted by SA20, rather than a confirmed matchday selection.
Rishad Hossain brings right-arm leg-spin and lower-order hitting. He took 14 wickets at the 2024 T20 World Cup and is set to become the first Bangladeshi to play in SA20. His arrival adds a wrist-spin option to Sunrisers’ attack.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape auction purse and remaining slots
Sunrisers have R3.6 million available for two places at the 7 October 2026 auction. Their recruitment is close to completion, with fewer vacancies than any of the other three teams participating.
| Auction detail | Sunrisers Eastern Cape status |
|---|---|
| Auction date | 7 October 2026 |
| Announced players | 17 |
| Remaining auction places | 2 |
| Remaining purse | R3.6 million |
| Wildcard | Marco Jansen |
| Completed squad size | 19 players |
Jansen is already included in the 17-player list. His wildcard fee falls outside the salary cap, and the two outstanding places are regular squad slots.
With most of their title-winning group retained, Sunrisers can use the auction to address specific cover. The identities of those final two players will determine the completed squad’s balance. Follow the SA20 2027 auction for the remaining places across all participating teams.
St George’s Park home ground and tickets
Sunrisers Eastern Cape play their home matches at St George’s Park in Gqeberha, formerly known as Port Elizabeth. The ground’s brass band is part of the matchday atmosphere familiar to the Orange Army.
Supporters can register through SA20’s official ticket early-access page. The league says general ticket sales for Season 5 will open later in 2026. Early-access registration is available ahead of that release.
The champions’ return under Stubbs and Birrell
Adrian Birrell has coached Sunrisers Eastern Cape since the inaugural season. Tristan Stubbs took over the captaincy for Season 4 and won the title in his first campaign in charge.
That 2026 final explains why retaining the batting core matters. Chasing Pretoria Capitals’ 158/7 at Newlands, Stubbs and Matthew Breetzke added an unbeaten 114 for the fifth wicket. Sunrisers won by six wickets with four balls remaining, despite Dewald Brevis’s century for Pretoria.
Both match-winners return for Season 5, and Pretoria are their first opponents again. The title defence begins at home with a rematch of the final.
Compare the champions’ squad and recruitment with the other SA20 teams.