SA20 commissioner Graeme Smith praised Temba Bavuma's attitude in opening up a gig for himself in the league, citing that example as justification for the organisers and Cricket South Africa (CSA) not getting involved in franchise selection matters. The Proteas limited overs skipper controversially went unsold at least year's inaugural SA20 auction, causing broader debate on Bavuma's suitability in the shortest format to bubble over, which, rather apparently, affected his form at the ill-fated ICC T20 World Cup campaign in Australia. However, the 32-year-old lit up South Africa's ODI series victory over England during the SA20's short break last month, ending as the hosts' leading run-scorer in the three-match skirmish with a drought-lifting century during the second ODI. He was subsequently picked up by Sunrisers Eastern Cape, the eventual title winners, as a replacement to England's Tom Abell, who was called up for their tour of Bangladesh. "Temba responded in the right way," Smith told a media roundtable event on Friday following a hugely successful first edition of the tournament. "He scored that memorable hundred against England [in the series-clinching second ODI] and ended up getting into the title-winning team. Ultimately, we - as the league - don't want to get involved in selection. " READ | Ka-ching! Career-changing payday for local players after SA20: 'Bonus bigger than salaries' Despite complaints from some quarters over the optics of a national white-ball captain being deemed surplus to requirements for all six franchises initially, Smith reiterated that the league needed to ensure the teams' autonomy when it came to player selection. He added that the league also didn't want to infringe on the integrity of selection by guaranteeing certain players' involvement. He pointed out that CSA and the league had smoothed over such an obstacle by allowing the federation to pay its nationally-contracted R850 000 regardless of whether they were picked up at the auction or not. "From a player's perspective, I wouldn't want to be guaranteed a spot. That's something we have to be very careful of. I believe we were all very disappointed for Temba when he wasn't picked up at the auction," said Smith. "But the position of the league was that we would guarantee every nationally-contracted player an agreed-upon amount as a sign of good faith, particularly if those players weren't drafted. "The league would never get involved in franchise's selection policies and recruitment. That falls in every team's own domain. From our perspective, we provide the platform for the players and CSA have to provide the security in terms of its centrally-contracted players. Even then, those national players were still able to start the auction at any base price that they wanted. " And, as this week's first-ever Women's Premier League (WPL) auction in India vividly illustrated, high-profile snubs will always be the order of the day. "Having been involved in auctions myself, it's never a simple thing. We saw this week in the WPL, where there were a number of shocks, everyone expected some players to fetch big amounts and ended up not even getting selected," said Smith. "These things happen. ".