Kevin Pietersen has pulled out his name from the upcoming IPL 2017 action citing a busy schedule since he has been playing a lot of T20 cricket around the globe, whether be it the Big Bash League or the Ram Slam, earning a tag of a ‘Freelance Cricketer’. However, Pietersen will always remember 3rd February 2017 as one of the most eventful days of his life. First, he was fined $5000 by Cricket Australia for his on-air comments, criticising an umpiring decision during the semi-final.
Kevin Pietersen was wearing an on-field microphone when he bad mouthed about the umpire’s decision to turn down a caught behind appeal, during the Melbourne Stars vs Perth Scorchers semifinal, against Sam Whiteman. He was clearly heard saying “That was a shocker, an absolute shocker“. His team, Melbourne Stars ended up losing the match by 7 runs, making the matters worse for the former England batsmen.
While Australian Cricketers are waiting for a call-up regarding the IPL 2017 auction, Kevin Pietersen today tweeted about his inability to play this season and wants to be with his family.
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!
— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) February 3, 2017
Pietersen had a very busy schedule this winter as he played in a South African T20 league for Dolphins where he made 198 runs in five innings before playing for Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League, scoring 268 runs in eight innings. Kevin Pietersen is also a part of the Quetta Gladiators squad for Pakistan Super League 2017 and this year the final will be hosted on Pakistani soil.
Coming to his Indian Premier League performances, Kevin Pietersen has been a regular since the first ever IPL but his 2016 season turned out to be one of the worst ever. He was part of the Rising Pune Supergiants franchise and made only 73 runs in the four innings in which he came to the crease before being ruled out of the tournament due to a calf injury.
This year, Rising Pune Supergiants released the star player and all eyes were set on his auction, withy every franchise eyeing to include him in the squad, all thanks to the 1,001 IPL runs under his belt with an average of 38.50 and an impressive strike rate of 135, including a century.
Despite the postponement of IPL 2017 auction, BCCI is still insisting that it will commence on 5th April and we are in for a high octane tournament, irrespective of this bad news.
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