Kevin Pietersen to play county cricket, released by SRH from IPL contract

Kevin Pietersen to play county cricket, released by SRH from IPL contract: England discard Kevin Pietersen can safely return to county cricket after he was released from his contract with Indian Premier League (IPL) side Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). This means that he can now join a county side – with Surrey as the front-runners for to sign him up- as he steps up his quest for an England recall.

SRH confirmed the move in a joint statement with the player on Tuesday.

“I’m going to do everything in my power to earn a recall to the international set-up,” Pietersen, 34, said.

The four-time Ashes winner, who was told he was no longer part of England’s plans in February 2014, added: “My focus is now very much on the upcoming season in England and I’m absolutely determined to score as many runs as possible. “I’ve never made any secret of my overwhelming desire to once again represent England.” Pietersen last week told BBC Sport he would “do anything” to get back in.

But national selector James Whitaker said he is “not part” of his plans.

South African-born Kevin Pietersen is England’s highest international run-scorer, with 13,797 runs across Tests, one-day internationals and Twenty20s. He parted ways with Surrey last September, when it was confirmed that Pietersen would only be available for three-and-a-half weeks in 2015, because of his commitments to IPL and Caribbean Premier League.

The IPL 2015 is scheduled to start on 8 April. Pietersen’s agreement with Sunrisers means he will miss the side’s league fixtures. However, he will be recalled if the team manages to reach the knockout stages of the competition, which are scheduled to start on 19 May and finish with the final on 24 May.

Pietersen’s commitment to county cricket follows an interview by incoming England & Wales Cricket Board chairman Colin Graves, in which he appeared to open the door to an England recall – providing Pietersen played county cricket. However, Whitaker last week told the BBC: “We haven’t had discussions at all about Kevin and he’s not part of our plans.”

Since his central contract was cancelled after the disastrous 2013-14 Ashes tour, Pietersen has had stints in the IPL, Australian Big Bash League (BBL) and Caribbean Premier League (CPL), but has not played first-class domestic cricket since June 2013.