The Indian Premier League today might be one of the most successful franchise leagues, and is a breeding ground for young players, as it was for county cricket once. The likes of Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Liam Livingstone, Phil Salt, and many other English cricketers have become more rounded players playing in the IPL. However, the English Cricket Board’s decision to let players participate in the IPL was not always as straightforward. And Kevin Pietersen, who was one of the first pioneers, urged the England players to play IPL and foresaw the benefits of playing the league was, “punished” for it.
“All I was wanting to do was play the IPL, earn more money, and miss a couple of Test matches in May, which didn’t matter anyway,” said Pietersen speaking to The Telegraph. “I sort of foresaw the future, but then I got punished for it.”
“I knew it was the ECB [England and Wales Cricket Board] versus Lalit Modi [the IPL’s founder], and I was at the centre of it. I might have, in hindsight, dealt with a few things a little bit differently. But I was always telling the truth, so I slept perfectly every single night. It was a storm in a teacup,” Pietersen said.
“I did something with Jos Buttler the other day for my YouTube channel,” Pietersen says. “He actually thanked me. He said, because of the sacrifices that I made, they could go out and enjoy what they enjoy now. And I was, like: ‘Dude, it’s fine, man. I got what I got. I live a pretty cool life. I’m very happy. So it is what it is,’ he added.
Pietersen, alongside all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, was the first player to be sold in the IPL for 9.8 crores each. The former went to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru while the latter was brought by the Chennai Super Kings.