Kevin Pietersen withdraws himself from the 2017 IPL Auction

Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen has withdrawn out of the 2017 IPL Auction, stating that he wanted to spend some time with his family after a hectic domestic season. The 35-year-old right-hander posted the update on his Twitter handle some time back.

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

In case you didn’t know..

Pietersen was part of the Melbourne Stars unit, that reached the semifinals of the competition, and finished the competition as the 8^th highest run-getter, with 263 runs in 8 games at a strike-rate of 128.22

The heart of the matter

The right-hander was released by the Rising Pune Supergiants ahead of the 2017 auctions after he didn’t have a productive season with them last year, having had to leave early after sustaining an injury mid-way through the season.

Pietersen has been part of four IPL teams in the past, having made his debut with the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2009, then representing the Deccan Chargers, the Delhi Daredevils and finally the Rising Pune Supergiants.

He was also picked up by the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2015, but could out down to play that year as he felt there was a chance for a possible England call-up, hence deciding to focus his energies on scoring big on the county circuit.

What's next?

With Pietersen ruling himself out of the auction, it would be interesting to see whether he makes a return in the Caribbean Premier League, where he is a part of the St.Lucia Zouks.

Before that, there is the Pakistan Super League, where he was part of the Quetta Gladiators squad last year.

Sportskeeda’s take

While Pietersen’s decision is completely his own, his absence will surely be felt among his large fan base in India and hopefully in the 2018 season, one gets the chance to watch Pietersen in action for an entire season.