Ousted English batsman could set to be at the top of every team’s wish-list.
He has been the talk of the cricket world in recent days, but Kevin Pietersen’s sacking from the England Cricket team could have a silver lining.
Pietersen had his international career ended by the England Cricket Board this week making him the first big name scalp after his country’s horror tour of Australia.
Opinion has been divided whether Pietersen has been made a scapegoat for the team’s poor performance or he has been fairly punished for leading the side down a slippery slope of sloppy standards.
However, Found of the Indian Premier League Lalit Modi believed Pietersen could fetch $5.5 million (2.5-3 million pounds) at the upcoming auction on February 12 and 13.
“I think, as far as the franchises are concerned, this is like a God-sent gift,” Modi said.
“Kevin Pietersen is one of the world’s best players, without any doubt, as far as Twenty20 is concerned and other forms of the game.
“Every IPL team owner’s dream was to get Kevin Pietersen playing full-time, to be available for the whole season, but he had to make time for the national team, rightly so.
“But now that he will be available for the whole time, I think it will be England’s loss and the IPL’s gain.”
Pietersen has played for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Deccan Chargers and Delhi Daredevils in past seasons of the IPL, which has been running since 2008.
However, he will go into the auction on 12-13 February as a free agent after Delhi opted not to retain any of their squad.
Modi expects there to be plenty of interest from franchises in securing Pietersen’s services for the entire seven-and-a-half weeks.
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