Former South African ace Jonty Rhodes is appointed head coach of the new Abu Dhabi T10 tournament. Morrisville SAMP Army, one of two new clubs, has stated its intentions for the tournament.

Season 6 of Abu Dhabi T10 will produce some of the most exciting talent in the sport of cricket while also introducing franchises from the USA, making it an 8-team tournament.

One of two new teams, Morrisville SAMP Army have made their intentions clear for the tournament, selecting a strong roster and also naming highly experienced former South African legend Jonty Rhodes as a mentor. Rhodes, who will join former teammate and close friend Lance Klusener as the head coach, said he is excited for this new challenge for him.

“One of the real perks of my role with the SAMP Army is that I'm not limited to just mentoring with the team. I also want to add value at the grassroots level. And with the presence in India and North America as well. "Well it's an amazing opportunity for me, hopefully adding value," Rhodes said, as quoted in a press release by Abu Dhabi T10 and Morrisville SAMP Army.

"I look forward to continuing to work with Ritesh Patel and Madhukar Shree with the SAMP Army franchise."

The former South African ace said his role as a mentor would be to identify some of the bigger issues in a high-intensity tournament. The coaching staff can catch up in the game and watch every over and every ball. But as a mentor , you don't pay attention to specific incidents, you simply help players do what they do best.

One of the most feared names of the last decade of the century, Rhodes also spoke about how the game has evolved since he was a player. We were primarily interested in using technology to help with preparation and enemy awareness. We were one of the first teams to adopt technology in that spirit and I've always been a firm believer that the game is always evolving and cricket is certainly evolving as a popular model because it takes less time said Rhodes.

It's a pleasure to see someone with as much experience as Jonty around the world aboard the Samp Army. Madhukar Shree, CEO of SAMP Army in Morrisville, said: "We are looking forward to Day One and I can tell you that his vast knowledge will certainly help ensure our franchise reaches its maximum potential and that Ritesh Patel, Owner of Samp Army, will be playing her first game on November 24th. We have two South Africans who made the sport a little bit more accessible and we have two who made it possible. In Abu Dhabi, we all want more of the same.