Capricorn Commanders have appointed former England star Paul Collingwood as team captain of their T20 Masters Champions League (MCL) side, the blockbuster Twenty20 tournament taking place in the UAE from January 28 to February 16 at the Dubai and Sharjah Cricket Stadiums.

Collingwood, who competed in all three formats of the game for England and famously captained his country to the 2010 World T20 trophy, will lead a team comprising of former Pakistan star Abdul Razzaq, 2005 Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan, two-time World Cup winner Andrew Symonds, Sri Lanka’s Chamara Silva and South Africa’s Ashwell Prince among others.

A batting all rounder by trade, Collingwood is hailed as one of the finest fielders of his time, and is expected to lead the Commanders to an exciting season at the Legends league, where cricket fans can see some of the sport’s most beloved sports heroes take to the field again.

“I am excited to be leading the Capricorn Commanders in the first ever MCL,” the Durham star said. “It’s a privilege to lead such esteemed players who I’ve done battle with over the years but now I can say I’m happy to be playing with on the same side and hopefully we can have success at our first attempt.”

Capricorn Commanders is owned by actor Sohail Khan and Parvez Khan, a prominent Dubai-based business tycoon and owner of property developers Pacific Ventures, who was thrilled to have Collingwood on his team, being the first celebrity player to go under the hammer in MCL 2016.

“We could not have chosen a more exciting player; Collingwood is such a great leader on and off the field, and will definitely be a great asset to the team. We are aiming to win and Collingwood is the perfect captain to take us towards that direction,” Parvez added.