England’s loss is Surrey’s gain with KP set for T20 Blast
Published:England’s loss is sure to be Surrey’s gain with the news Kevin Pietersen has signed a contract to feature for the Lions in this summer’s T20 Blast.
The 33-year-old brings world class pedigree to a Surrey side who have not won a T20 trophy tournament since Adam Hollioake led them to the inaugural T20 Cup in 2003.
KP, who will play a full season in the IPL, has scored 978 international T20 runs at an average of 53 and was named man of the tournament during England’s ICC World Twenty20 win in 2010.
And in true Pietersen box-office style, the former England captain, who will play all 14 games for Surrey in the group stage, has been quoted at 8/1 by the bookmaker to finish top tournament runscorer.
With KP told his international career was over last week following the 5-0 Ashes whitewash in Australia, Surrey director of cricket Stewart made no hesitation to tie up England’s leading runscorer in all forms of the game to the club.
“We’ve got a great player, a world-class player, and this is not just great for Surrey but great for the domestic game as well,” said the former England wicket keeper.
“It will give the Twenty20 Blast a great lift-off, and if he plays in the other forms of the game then it adds to the profile of our four-day and 50-over cricket.”
While the South African-born batsman’s priority will be to bring T20 silverware to the Kia Oval, he could also feature for the county in the 50-over format and the County Championship when available for selection.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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