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'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.'
Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen pulled out of this year's Indian Premier League after withdrawing his name from the players' auction scheduled later this month.
"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!," he tweeted on Friday.
Pietersen was part of the Melbourne Stars in the Australian Big Bash League, where he finished as one of the leading run-scorers with a tally of 268 runs in eight matches.
However, after his team's defeat in the semi-finals of the T20 tournament against the Perth Scorchers, the 36-year-old was on the receiving end of some criticism from Australia coach Darren Lehmann for his performances in the tournament.
"@KP24 @BBL time for stars to move KP on, spent too much money on him and didn't win. Don't want to listen to his excuses any more," Lehmann wrote in a tweet which he deleted later.
The tenth edition of the IPL will kick-off in April, with the player auction scheduled to be held later this month.
Pietersen, who was part of the Rising Pune Supergiants last year, was released by his franchise and was part of the player auction for this year's auction before he decided to withdraw his name. He played four matches for the franchise last season before an injury ruled him out of the tournament.
Interestingly, he is scheduled to play for Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League later this month.
Image: Kevin Pietersen
Photograph: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images