England may no longer need his services, but Kevin Pietersen is very much in demand and reaffirming that statement is news coming in that South African T20 side Dolphins has resigned the maverick English batsman for the second successive season of the Ram Slam T20 cricket competition.
Having been on the sidelines for quite some time after being ruled out of the IPL where he was representing MS Dhoni’s Rising Pune Supergiants due to a torn calf, Pietersen will be playing five matches in South Africa’s premier T20 competition before heading to Australia to take part in the Big Bash League, where he will be representing Melbourne Stars.
Pietersen played seven matches in last year’s competition and was a big hit in his country of birth as he smashed 401 runs in just seven innings – including two hundreds and two fifties at an average of 80.20 and a strike of 172.84.
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Reacting after signing on the dotted line, Pietersen sounded really excited at the opportunity to return to his roots and is aiming to recreate last year’s success with the Dolphins.
"I’m as excited as anything to have signed with the Dolphins again," Pietersen said. "I had such a wonderful season with them last season and I really enjoyed the team, the camaraderie, and the competition so it was a very easy decision to sign again for this season’s T20 competition.
“It will be great to getting back onto the cricket field again and I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone in Durban again as well."
The T20 competition, however, will not be marking Pietersen’s return to the cricket field since his latest injury with the 36-year-old set to feature in a Cricket United charity match to be held at the Oval on September 22. With Pietersen deciding against taking a chance with his fitness by pulling out of the entire domestic season in England, this match will be Pietersen’s one and only appearance in England this year.
The match will be held between a Surrey All-Stars XI and a Cricket United XI which will be coached by former England cricketers Michael Vaughan and Mark Butcher respectively with Lord’s Taverners, Chance to Shine and the PCA Benevolent Fund – the three charities that constitute the Cricket United charity – confirming that the KP24 foundation will be among the charities will be given a due from the match fees collected on the day for charity purposes.
While Pietersen is undoubtedly the biggest star of the day, current English batsman Jason Roy has also confirmed his participation, while the rest of the players will be revealed in the coming weeks.
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