IPL 2014: Kevin Pietersen Brought by Delhi Daredevils for £880K in Auction

Kevin Pietersen will play for Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League after being brought by the franchise for £880,000 in the annual player auction in Bangalore.

Pietersen, who was released from his central contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board last week, is available for the duration of the eight-team tournament which begins in 5 April after re-joining Delhi for 2014.

After missing last year's 20-over tournament with a knee problem, Delhi had released Pietersen due to his expected international commitments however his marginalisation from the England team means he can play a full part in the money-spinning event's seventh year.

The 33 year old was the third most expensive player during the first part of the auction, with Indian pair Vuvraj Singh, a £1.37m addition for Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Dinesh Karthik, who joins the Daredevils, the highest valued players in the draw.

Reacting to joining Delhi on Twitter, Pietersen wrote:

In 21 IPL matches, Pietersen has averaged 42.26 with the bat with a highest score of 103 and goes into the tournament as one of the highest profile players after the completion of the third most lucrative deal of the auction.

England players Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Alex Hales and Luke Wright were all unsold in the auction, meaning the quartet are expected to line up for their respective counties during the opening months of the domestic season.

Middlesex's Eoin Morgan withdrew from the IPL auction earlier in the week in order to stake a claim to replace Pietersen in the England team, with the Irish-born middle-order batsman expected to play a full-part in the start of the County Championship season.

Pietersen will return to English shores following the end of the IPL to play for Surrey in the T20 Blast though he could also feature in four-day matches.

As the highest run scorer in all forms of cricket for England, Pietersen's omission from future England teams which starts with the limited overs tour to the West Indies and the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh next month, has divided opinion.

The ECB released a second statement on Sunday explaining there was a lack of confidence in Pietersen and that the decision had been significantly influenced by Test captain Alastair Cook.