New Delhi, Jan 7 : South Africa batting great AB de Villiers believes the Sunrisers Eastern Cape have the potential to complete a hat-trick of titles in the upcoming third season of the SA20 league, citing them having a team and coaching staff full of class. In T20 franchise cricket, a team doing three-peat of successive titles is a rare feat, and the Sunrisers Eastern Cape, led by Aiden Markram and coached by Adrian Birrell, have a chance of doing that when they begin their season three campaign against MI Cape Town at their home ground St George's Park in Gqeberha on January 9.

'It's very similar to what I said last season - it's very unlikely, and they proved me wrong. So you don't often see teams go back-to-back in T20 tournaments. For them to have an opportunity to go three in a row, I'm going to say the same thing, it's unlikely. But do they have the potential to do so? Absolutely.'

'They are a class unit with a high-class coaching staff. A big credit goes to Adrian Birrell and his team for what they've achieved over the last few seasons. He's a very composed, calm coach with great insight and knowledge of the game. Having coached a lot in county cricket, he brings a lot of that experience over to South Africa,' said de Villiers in reply to a question from IANS in a virtual media interaction on Tuesday.

'With county cricket, they play a lot of cricket. So he brings great knowledge with regards to that - like playing a month-long tournament with back-to-back games. So keeping his team calm through the ups and downs of a rushed tournament that's electrifying, I think that's probably where the biggest strength lies," he added.

Apart from Markram, Sunrisers Eastern Cape have a strong core of South African players in Marco Jansen, Tristan Stubbs, Ottneil Baartman, David Bedingham, Simon Harmer, Jordan Hermann, Patrick Kruger, Andile Simelane, and Roelof van der Merwe. They also have overseas players in Zak Crawley, Craig Overton, Tom Abell, Liam Dawson, and Richard Gleeson.

Though de Villiers expects a tough push from teams like Durban's Super Giants, Pretoria Capitals, Jo'burg Super Kings, Paarl Royals, and MI Cape Town in preventing the defending champions from winning the title yet again, he equated the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to five-time IPL winners Chennai Super Kings, who got to win the trophy five times despite not looking strong on paper.

'They have that same strength again this coming season. Do they look like the best team on paper? By no means. There's no chance they're the best team on paper. They are a good team. But there are teams that look stronger than them on paper. But we know that it's not the paper that win you the tournaments.'

'We've seen that in the IPL year after year. It's not the best team that came out on top every time. I think Chennai Super Kings is a good example of that. Not often they look like the best team on paper, but somehow, they find a way to lift the trophy, and they have done so on numerous occasions.'

'So, Sunrisers Eastern Cape, they are capable of doing it. They're a class unit with a class coaching staff. I do hope for them to have another good tournament. It's always nice to see a franchise dominating, and it almost sets the benchmark for the rest of the teams to follow.'

'There always needs to be a foe in a competition, and I think they are the foes right now. Everyone's sort of chasing them and want to dethrone them. So they will be motivated to go three in a row, and it will be fantastic,' ABD elaborated.

The third season of SA20 will also mark the first time an Indian player will be a part of the tournament in the form of veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik, who will turn out for Paarl Royals.

De Villiers, who is the tournament's brand ambassador and has commentated in the first two seasons, wishes for the SA20 to grow in terms of attracting quality overseas players and expressed for more Indian players to be a part of the six-team competition. 'A large part of the success of the IPL over the years that I've followed since 2008 is every year, the overseas contingent seems to get stronger and stronger. You get the best players in the world. With the best players in India, that combination makes for great cricket. So I think for Graeme (Smith, SA20 commissioner) and his team moving forward, it's just to keep pushing as hard as they can to get the best quality players over here.'

'The group of overseas players that are joining this season is stronger than seasons one and two. So it's tracking in the right direction. Then I would love to see more Indian players involved. We know Dinesh Karthik will be here this year, which is fantastic and it's great for the tournament. Hopefully, the BCCI will allow us to get more Indian players in the future to come and join in the fun of the SA20,' de Villiers said.

The third season of SA20, set to take place from January 9 to February 8, will be broadcast live in India on Star Sports 2, and Sports18 2 (TV), and Disney+ Hotstar (Digital).

/IANS