KP could ditch IPL for county deal

Kevin Pietersen says he's considering a return to English county cricket this year in a bid to win back his place in England's Test and one-day sides.

Pietersen was controversially sacked by the England and Wales Cricket Board last year and appeared destined to play out the rest of his career in Twenty20 leagues around the world.

But a change of leadership at the ECB – Tom Harrison has replaced David Collier as CEO and Colin Graves will take over as Chairman from Giles Clarke in May – has convinced Pietersen that his international career may not yet be over.

The 34-year-old says he's looking at the prospect of signing a county contract and ditching his lucrative deal with Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League as it clashes with the English domestic season.

"That's what I'm looking at at the moment," Pietersen told Fox Sports ahead of his World Cup commentary debut for Australia's Pool A match with Scotland.

"There will be a change of scenery at board level with the ECB and I've always expressed my desire to play for England again if I got the opportunity.

"And it seems encouraging, but I've obviously got a few steps that I've got to climb.

"It just makes perfect sense to explore different things. That's what I'm doing at the moment."

A report in the UK's The Telegraph on Saturday said six counties have expressed an interest in signing Pietersen, but Surrey is "the most likely outcome".

The report said: "To have any chance of playing for England, Pietersen has to show his full commitment by pulling out of the IPL and agreeing to play all formats of the game in county cricket".

When asked about the article, Pietersen said: "There's nothing to add, whatever you've seen you've seen.

"I've still got more decisions to make.

"It's the weekend now so nobody will be picking up their phones, but Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday will be very exciting hopefully."

Pietersen today retweeted The Telegraph's story and changed his profile image to the back page of the paper trumpeting his return.

The numbers #626 and #185 are Pietersen's Test and one-day international numbers.

Since his sacking by the ECB, Pietersen has plied his trade as a Twenty20 specialist in the KFC T20 Big Bash League, the IPL and the Caribbean Premier League.

But he's repeatedly expressed his desire to return to the international arena.

"When you don't play any form of international cricket and you've had it for such a long time, (you want to play) anything, absolutely anything," he said.

"You miss it so much when you're not playing it.

"Obviously I've been lucky to come here and play in the Big Bash, play in the IPL, play in the Caribbean (Premier) League.

"But Test cricket, one-day cricket, playing for your country is very special."

The fallout from Pietersen's sacking last year has been bitter, with the former captain publishing a book in which he was scathing of several key players in English cricket, especially former coach Andy Flower and wicketkeeper Matt Prior.

He has also had a turbulent relationship with current coach Peter Moores, while ECB managing director Paul Downton was behind the push to sack him last year.

Pietersen hasn't played first-class cricket since the fifth Ashes Test last January, but was one of the better performed players in the BBL this summer.

One of the highlights from KP's BBL stint