Guptill and Steyn sign up for Euro T20 Slam

LONDON: New Zealand opening batsman Martin Guptill and South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn have become the latest international stars to sign up for the new Euro T20 Slam that starts in August, organisers announced on Tuesday.

Guptill will join his former captain Brendon McCullum, England one-day skipper Eoin Morgan, Pakistan's Shahid Afridi, Australia's Shane Watson and Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan as an "icon player".

Steyn who was ruled out of the World Cup due to injury, will be one of the "marquee" names along with fellow South Africans JP Duminy and Imran Tahir, Australia's Chris Lynn, Pakistan's Babar Azam and New Zealand's Luke Ronchi.

The Euro T20 Slam is a Twenty20 competition that will feature six city franchises based in Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands -- three countries that missed out on qualifying for the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales after featuring in previous editions of the 50-over showpiece.

"I am really excited to be a part of the inaugural Euro T20 Slam," said Guptill, set to feature in a World Cup pool match against England on Wednesday, with the winners guaranteed a place in the semi-finals.

"All the content is creating a lot of hype and I am really lucky to be a part of the league this year."

Steyn said: "I can't wait to get over there and get things going."

The Euro T20 Slam teams will play each other in a series of 33 matches from August 30 to September 22, with fixtures taking place in Dublin, Edinburgh and Amsterdam.

The aim is to give local talent a chance to shine alongside established global stars, a mix that has proved popular in the hugely successful Indian Premier League and other T20 competitions.