Former West Indian batsmen Sir Viv Richards and Brian Lara will serve as mentors for the UAE T20x – the country’s first ever international cricket league.

These two notable names join a stellar list which includes Courtney Walsh, Ricardo Powell, Phil Simmons and Vasbert Drakes, who have all signed up as coaches.

The five franchises will be eyeing these iconic personalities and will seek to pick these superstars in the draft, which is scheduled to take place in November. The star-studded coach and mentor pool, now consists of close to 180 accomplished career coaches and former cricketers from 16 nations.

For Lara, he is looking forward to pass on his extensive knowledge in the inaugural competition which will take place from December 19 to January 11.

“It is extremely heart-warming to see so many experienced coaches vying to be a part of the league, with an incredible representation from the West Indies,” said Lara.

“We have some highly respected, celebrated figures all looking to share their experience with up and coming international talent. This certainly demonstrates the attractiveness of the league as they continue to rope in some of the biggest names in the sport.”

 West-Indian T20 specialist, Andre Russell was earlier announced as an icon player of the league alongside David Miller, Eoin Morgan, Shahid Afridi, Kumar Sangakkara and global ambassador AB de Villiers.