Joburg Super Kings sign 18-year-old Jason Rowles for $174,248 at SA20 auction

Joburg Super Kings bought 18-year-old batter Jason Rowles for $174,248 at the SA20 Season 5 auction on Wednesday. The Johannesburg-born player, still a matric pupil at St David’s Marist Inanda, drew bids from MI Cape Town before JSK secured him at 14.5 times his R200,000 base price.

Rowles scored 280 runs at an average of 70 in the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year, including an unbeaten 125 against Tanzania. He also scored a double century in the Youth Test series against England U19 in July. JSK head coach Albie Morkel said the franchise had tracked Rowles for more than a year and viewed him as a potential future star.

SA20 commissioner Graeme Smith said the auction showed talent matters more than age. He pointed to Faf du Plessis, who returned to Joburg Super Kings for $162,286 despite being 42, as proof that experience still commands value when fitness holds.