What’s the story?
Australian coach and occasional commentator Darren Lehmann has launched a furious attack on Kevin Pietersen after Melbourne Stars were defeated in the semi-finals of the 2016/17 Big Bash League (BBL). He did not buy into the 36-year old batsman’s unconvincing excuses and urged the franchise to stop wasting money on him.
On his official Twitter page, Lehmann launched a scathing attack on the South Africa-born cricketer. The former all-rounder ensured that Pietersen would not miss those comments by tagging his handle.
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Renowned for his maverick batting and marketable personality off the field, Pietersen is among the most highly sought-after cricketers in various Twenty20 leagues. However, his recent form has been quite patchy. Though he ended the BBL season as Stars’ leading run-scorer, his strike-rate of 128.22 did not evoke any fear in opposition bowling attacks.
The heart of the matter
The flamboyant right-hander was part of Stars’ catastrophic top-order collapse during the semi-final clash against Perth Scorchers. With Mitchell Johnson breathing fire, he laboured to a 10-ball 5 before an extravagant shot resulted in his downfall.
In response to Scorchers’ emphatic 7-wicket victory, Pietersen went on to claim that the WACA pitch was one of the slowest he had ever played on. Not stopping at that, he slammed the umpires for giving an ‘absolute shocker’ of a decision regarding a caught-behind appeal against Sam Whiteman.
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Pietersen reportedly makes more than $200,000 each year for his stint in Australia and has been contracted until the end of the next BBL edition. Even though Stars’ Chairman of Selectors Damien Fleming defended the erstwhile England batsman by alluding to his marketing work off the field, Lehmann was in no mood to spare him.
What’s next?
Pietersen‘s next assignment will be the 2017 edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). With his trademark explosiveness in the middle-order, he might have a key role in last year’s runner-up Quetta Gladiators’ batting fortunes.
Sportskeeda’s Take
With advancing age and waning reflexes, the right-hander is approaching the twilight of his professional career. Though some of his eye-catching shots, as well as crowd-pulling capacity, still remain, to a certain extent, Twenty20 franchises across the globe will be poring over his recent form and ruminating his future prospects.
After all, performances have started trumping most other aspects in almost every tournament.
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