Kevin Pietersen who recently played in Big Bash League (BBL) 2016-17 for Melbourne Stars has decided to opt out of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 Player Auction. Pietersen revealed this shocker of a news through his Twitter handle on February 3. The reason Pietersen cited for his absence from IPL 2017 is that he has been playing continuously in leagues around the globe. His tweeted, “I won’t be going into the IPL auction. My winter has been too busy with all my travel and I don’t want to spend April/May away too!”.
Pietersen was recently released by Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) during the transfer window in December 2016. He also played in semi-final of recently concluded BBL 2016-17. The 36-year-old scored 268 runs in 8 innings. Earlier he played in South African T20 league, scoring 198 runs in 5 innings for Sunfoil Dolphins. He will also be playing for Quetta Gladiators in Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2017 which is to be held from February 9 to March 5.
FYI – I won’t be going into the IPL auction. My winter has been too busy with all my travel & I don’t want to spend April/May away too!
— KP (@KP24) February 3, 2017
Pietersen was bought for $5,20,000 by RPS in last season. He has been a part of five franchises so far since the inaugural season of IPL.
