Kevin Pietersen to play in IPL with Eoin Morgan for Sunrisers Hyderabad
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Version 0 of 1. Kevin Pietersen saw his earnings cut by £650,000 in Monday’s Indian Premier League auction but found consolation in a reunion with his former England colleagues Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara after the trio were all signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad. Pietersen, released by Delhi Daredevils late last year after three seasons with the franchise, took the hit when the Sunrisers’ management, after much deliberation, met the 34-year-old’s £205,000 reserve price and the rest of the room at the ITC Gardenia hotel in Bengaluru remained silent. Amid the disappointment of a reduction from his terms at Delhi, explained by only one half-century in 11 IPL innings in 2014, came the prospect of joining up with his close friends Morgan and Bopara, who picked up deals worth £140,000 and £100,000 respectively after the England and Wales Cricket Board granted them full availability for the six-week Twenty20 bonanza that starts on 8 April. The irony of such a loosening of control by the ECB, with whom the duo both hold increment contracts, will not be lost on Pietersen after years of rucking with his former employers over his own time in the tournament. The policy change comes with an eye on giving England’s limited-overs specialists additional subcontinent experience before the World T20 in India next year. Pietersen, who five years ago picked up a £1.1m deal from Royal Challengers Bangalore, took time out of a family holiday in Barbados to hit Twitter in a blaze of positivity, writing: “To be playing with my buddies, @ravibopara, @Eoin16, @DaleSteyn62 & @davidwarner31 for the @SunRisers makes me really happy this am!” To be playing with my buddies, @ravibopara, @Eoin16, @DaleSteyn62 & @davidwarner31 for the @SunRisers makes me really happy this am! ✌️ For a second year running there were no bids for Nottinghamshire’s Alex Hales, the world’s No3 ranked T20 batsman, who is warming the bench in England’s World Cup campaign. The Hampshire opener Michael Carberry, an international discard since last summer’s one-day series with Sri Lanka, similarly went unsold despite a title-winning stint for Perth Scorchers in Australia’s Big Bash League. However, his Perth team-mate Brad Hogg, at the ripe old age of 44, secured a deal with Kolkata Knight Riders for £50,000. Both men were, at least, in exalted company with South Africa’s Hashim Amla, the West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels and the Sri Lanka duo Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara failing to attract interest despite the best efforts of the auctioneer Richard Madley – a man perhaps better known for his guest appearances on BBC1’s Bargain Hunt. Sangakkara’s omission will come as a boost to Surrey, with the county’s marquee overseas winter signing now expected to available from the start of the English summer for the first of the 37-year-old’s two contracted seasons at The Oval. Of the 67 players to be signed by the eight IPL teams, the 2011 World Cup winner Yuvraj Singh attracted the weightiest deal with Delhi Daredevils seeing off interest from RCB and Rajasthan Royals courtesy of a £1.7m winning bid, a record IPL deal. Aaron Finch, fresh from his match-winning 135 against England in the World Cup opener in Melbourne, scored a £335,000 deal at Mumbai Indians while 39-year-old Mike Hussey rejoined Chennai SuperKings for £160,000, whom he last played for in 2013. Talk that the former Test batsman could take over from Duncan Fletcher as India coach after the World Cup, on the recommendation of captain MS Dhoni, will only grow louder now the pair are team-mates once more. |