Andre Russell and David Miller announced as first two Icon players for UAE T20x

The two big-hitting allrounders will compete in the league, owned by the Emirates Cricket Board(ECB), which will run at the end of the year from 19th December – 11th January in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah

^{Andre Russell and David Miller have been announced as two Icon players for the tournament}

The newly launched upcoming T20 league, UAE T20x, have announced that Andre Russell and David Miller will take part as two of five Icon players who will each represent a franchise team.

The two big-hitting allrounders will compete in the league, owned by the Emirates Cricket Board(ECB), which will run at the end of the year from 19th December – 11th January in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

This news follows the earlier announcement of AB de Villiers as the tournament’s global ambassador and furthers the franchise league’s desire to recruit a wide mix of players from all around the world.

UAE T20x will debut with five new franchise teams competing in a 22-match format to be played over 24 days. The five franchises will consist of squads of 16 featuring six international star players, four emerging and junior players, three ICC Associate Member players, and three UAE national team players.

With this varied competitor make-up of local and international emerging talent, alongside the ECB’s plans to generate new income streams to put into the grassroots of the game, the league aims to put the growth of the game at its forefront.

On the announcement, Andre Russell said: “UAE T20x has to be one of the most exciting and entertaining tournaments to launch in a long time. It’s got everything, a star studded line-up of players and icons, amazing facilities in a progressive country and passionate fans who come from all over the world. I’m really looking forward to seeing it all come to life this December.”