Discarded England batting star Kevin Pietersen commented on Tuesday that Monday’s Indian Premier League player auctions were “another slap in Test cricket’s face”.
England’s current players were a major draw on Monday, with all-rounder Ben Stokes snapped up by Rising Pune Supergiants for Rs 14.5 crore and pacer Tymal Mills going to Royal Challengers Bengaluru for Rs 12 crore.
Replying to his followers on Twitter, the 36-year-old former England international warned that the five-day format of the game was falling “way behind” in the cricketing ladder, and urged the International Cricket Council to act quickly.
Years ago, Pietersen had stated that the shortest format of the game was aiding Test cricket and that it was helping in the five-day games becoming more result-oriented. He also predicted that Twenty20s would replace One-day Internationals altogether.
Pietersen first featured in the IPL in 2009, where he was the joint highest-paid player along with former England colleague Andrew Flintoff, when he was signed on by RCB. Pietersen has since gone on to represent Delhi Daredevils and recently, Rising Pune Supergiants. When prodded, he acknowledged the big bucks in the IPL helped him become a sought-after cricketer, monetarily. Earlier in the year, he pulled out of IPL 2017, citing a busy summer as a reason.
After having a below-par Big Bash League this year, the South Africa-born batsman has rediscovered his form in in the ongoing Pakistan Super League, where he represents Quetta Gladiators.
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