According to Daily Mail report, English limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan has joined as an ‘icon’ player in UAE T20x, the new Twenty20 league in the United Arab Emirates that will run by Emirates Cricket Board (ECB).

Morgan has signed a £270,000 contract to feature in this tournament. The first edition of this tournament will take place from December 2018 to January 2019 where five franchise teams will compete.

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Earlier, Emirates Cricket Board announced that Andre Russell and David Miller have signed to play the tournament as the ‘icon’ players. Now, Morgan has been added to this special players list and he is very excited to take a part in this new tournament.

Morgan said according to ESPNcricinfo, “I’m really excited about being part of it. Being part of a new tournament, there’s always that bit more behind it because it’s a new step, in the right direction, for an association. And with it being T20, it always has that financial incentive, in order to bring money back into the grassroots of the game.

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“One thing about this tournament over every other that stood out for me – every tournament around the world you play in, there’s probably one stipulation where you have to pick an Under-23 or an emerging player in your squad, whereas this new tournament, you have to have three UAE current players in your squad and three Associate nation players in your squad. And that being set out from the very beginning rally does put the development of the ECB’s future players at the forefront of the tournament.”

Former South African captain AB de Villiers will be the ‘global ambassador’ of this tournament while the tournament organisers have wished to approach Steven Smith and David Warner to feature in the first edition.

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According to some reports, the International Cricket Council (ICC) is thinking to restrict the number of leagues for individual players in a year, but Morgan believes that will lead to some huge legal issues.

Morgan said on that, “I’m sure there would be some huge legal ramifications, of restricting guys’ employment, so I’m sure that would be met with quite a big (opposition). I’m not sure how it would work. I don’t see that going through.

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“It creates a question, if you’re a young up-and-coming player, whether you want to make a decision early about sacrificing playing international cricket or going to one of the leagues. It’s not really a question you want to be asking yourself – or you shouldn’t have to ask yourself.”