Pietersen keen to play Australia T20’s Big Bash League

Sydney: South African-born England cricketer Kevin Pietersen has expressed a desire to play in Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL) between his international duties.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Pietersen’s management has told BBL teams that he will be available for the Australian Twenty20 league after Christmas, and it is understood that he is interested in playing in either Sydney or Melbourne. Pietersen has also been linked with Sydney Thunder, who has already signed the explosive Chris Gayle and Shahid Afridi, but the Pakistani all-rounder is available only for the first half of the season, meaning Pietersen could conceivably be subbed in after Christmas, the paper said. Pietersen, a member of the Test team hosting the South Africans, is currently in a stand off with the English Cricket Board over his availability following his retirement from one-day cricket. He was omitted from England’s provisional 30-man Twenty20 World Cup squad, although he was player of the tournament when his side won the event in the Caribbean two years ago, the paper said. As English selectors want their players to be available for all forms of the game and Pietersen has subsequently hinted he might be, sources said that the Proteas player has told BBL franchises that he expects to be free for the second half of the season. ANI