London: Maverick England batsman Kevin Pietersen snubbed the Indian Premier League, announcing that he has withdrawn himself from the players' auction owing to his hectic schedule of the past few months.
"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!," Pietersen posted on his twitter handle.
Pitersen’s decision came in a as a major surprise, especially when the right hander had decided to play in all the major T20 leagues across the world including the Big Bash League in Australia, the Pakistan Super League and the domestic T20 league in South Africa.
Pietersen scored 268 runs in 8 matches for Melbourne Stars in the recently concluded Big Bash League with two half-centuries.
According to reports Pietersen will return to PSL 2017 to play for the Quetta Gladiators.
It is a rare occasion when a player has opted out of IPL despite being medically fit and having no international duties.
The explosive cricketer had played for Rising Pune Supergiants in the last edition of the league. He played only four matches before an injury forced him out of the event. The franchise subsequently released him.
However, the possibility of Pietersen going unsold in this year’s IPL auctions could not have been ruled out as over the years, the stylish batsman has had a high Base Price and he is also not a current international player.