KP Signs With Surrey

Kevin Pietersen has signed a new contract with Surrey this week. He said he was "absolutely delighted to have agreed terms with Surrey and am thoroughly looking forward to playing my cricket for the club this summer. I've had some of my best moments in cricket at the Kia Oval and I'm really excited at the prospect of getting back out there playing in what will hopefully be a brilliant summer for us all at Surrey." 

KP will represent the Surrey lions in the Twenty20 Blast form of the game with the possibility of him appearing in first-class matches and 50-over games.

Pietersen has shown the world he just wants to play cricket - when and where he can - as Alec Stewart confirms; "He's playing for the right reasons, in that he wanted to play for Surrey, and he made that very, very clear. We've got a great player, a world-class player, and this is not just a great deal for Surrey but great for the domestic game as well. It will give the Twenty20 Blast a great lift-off, and if he plays in the other forms of the game then it adds to the profile of our four-day and 50-over cricket."

The ECB put out this first statement a week ago effectively ending the chances of KP ever wearing three lions across his chest again on a cricket pitch; "Kevin Pietersen has been informed by the England and Wales Cricket Board that he has not been included in the England squads for the forthcoming tour of the Caribbean later this month nor the ICC World Twenty20 to be held in Bangladesh in March.

Kevin Pietersen met with Paul Downton, the Managing Director England Cricket, this week and was told that the unanimous decision of the England management, including the selectors, was that now was the time to start the rebuilding process after England's disappointing winter in Australia."

However, this has left KP available for the entire IPL season this year. 

Former IPL chief Latif Modi said Pietersen could go "upwards of £2.5m to £3m" with each franchise capped at spending less than £6m. 

Head of cricket operations for kings XI Punjab, Anant Sarkaria said "he is such an awesome player. A lot of teams would be looking for Pietersen and we are one of them. The availability of English players for the whole duration of the IPL has always been a problem for most of the franchises. Pietersen's retirement changes the dynamics of the auction."

Hard to understand why the ECB would let go of such an influential player, but their loss is the IPL's gain. 

Ball on Willow.