Pakistan Super League draft set to land Pietersen £94,000 deal
Former England skipper Kevin Pietersen is set to extend his Twenty20-playing portfolio after being selected in the first round of the draft for the inaugural Pakistan Super League yesterday.
England exile Pietersen was selected fourth overall by the Quetta Gladiators behind Pakistan internationals Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik, as well as former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson.
Pietersen was the only England-qualified player granted platinum status, the highest bracket in the draft, and an accompanying £94,000 pay packet. Seamer James Anderson and batsman Ian Bell went unselected on day one of the draft. The 35-year-old South Africa-born batsman will share a dressing room with former England all-rounder Luke Wright, who was the Gladiators’ sixth pick and £47,000 diamond player.
West Indies powerhouse Chris Gayle was snapped up by the Lahore Qalandars, while the Karachi Kings made Mohammad Amir, back from a five-year ban for spot-fixing, the first of their gold picks. Also taken by the Kings were England duo Ravi Bopara and James Vince, while all-rounder Chris Jordan and Somerset’s Jim Allenby were chosen by Peshawar.
The likes of Tim Bresnan, Michael Carberry, James Tredwell and Samit Patel were all overlooked. Another 31 English players will feature on day two of the draft for the tournament scheduled to take place in Dubai and Sharjah during February.