ASA TRIBE has backed up a maiden first class double century with a contract to play for the Paarl Royals in the SA20 franchise league for the 2025/26 competition.
Tribe, 21, walked off the park at The County Ground at Northamptonshire CCC on Tuesday with a career best List A score of 206 to his name for Glamorgan in their County Championship Division 2 clash.
This was his fourth century in his last six innings, which also included two half centuries at an average of 252.66 for both Glamorgan and Jersey, but Tribe wouldn’t have known his day was set to get even better.
The former De La Salle student had previously entered himself into the draft for South Africa’s leading T20 tournament, now one of the leading franchise tournaments in the world.
Following the close of play on Tuesday, news was broken that the Jerseyman had been picked up in the draft by the Paarl Royals, the franchise branch of Indian Premier League side, Rajasthan Royals.
The iconic pink strip of the Royals carries esteemed pedigree, as the first ever winners of the world famous IPL back in 2008.
The SA20 was first played in 2023, with the Hyderabad franchise Sunrisers Eastern Cape winning the first two titles. However the defending champions from last season are the Mumbai franchise, MI Cape Town.
Tribe has been snatched up by the Royals for R200,000, the equivalent to around £8,400, as one of seven overseas players in the 18-man squad, which will be led by South African white ball legend, David Miller.
Tribe will be joining up with his teammates for the start of the tournament in December, where the Royals will commence their campaign with a home clash against Sunrisers Eastern Cape on 27 December.
Boland Park, the home of the Royals, will welcome Tribe along with the signings of fellow overseas players Dan Lawrence [England], Eshan Malinga [Sri Lanka], Gudakesh Motie [West Indies], Sikander Raza [Zimbabwe] and Mujeeb Ur Rahman [Afghanistan to the strong line up already present of local South African international players Kyle Verreynne, Rubin Hermann, captain Miller and young superstar, Lhuan-dre Pretorius.
The Royals also host England superstars Joe Root and Jofra Archer on their quota, however they won’t be present at this tournament due to the Ashes test series taking place in Australia at the same time.
As a 21 year old still learning his craft in the game, to share a dressing room with players of the ilk and experience of Miller, Raza and Mujeeb is an incredible opportunity for Tribe not only in his own career, but for the lessons he can bring back to Glamorgan and his Jersey teammates.
