LAHORE - Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen puts his name up for the inaugural Pakistan Super League (PSL) Twenty20 to be held February next year in the United Arab Emirates.
Pietersen is the latest player to put up his hand to be part of the Pakistan Super League. The former English batsmen confirmed his involvement via a video message played during the launch of the 2016 PSL here on Sunday night. "Absolutely buzzing to be a part of the Pakistani mela (event) coming up in February. I can't wait to get it started," Pietersen said.
"It looks like it is going to be a wonderful competition. Lots of fun, lots of sixes, lots of wickets, typical T20 stuff. I am really excited to be a part of this wonderful tournament and excited to get going. I will see you guys soon," he added.
The PSL had already confirmed the star signings of West Indians Chris Gayle, Kierron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine, Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al-Hasan, New Zealand allrounder Grant Elliot  and Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews in the lead-up to the launch.
The inaugural season of the PSL is set to include five teams from the provincial capitals – Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta – and include 24 matches between February 4 to 24. The cricketers, who sign up for the league, will be placed in a player draft. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had indicated the tournament would be played in Qatar, but the first season of the PSL would reportedly now take place in the United Arab Emirates. Pietersen's
signing is the latest in a string of Twenty20 engagements for the controversial batsman, whose hopes of returning to the England international set-up were dashed by ECB director of cricket Andrew Strauss in May. Pietersen made his Twenty20 debut for Nottinghamshire against Durham in 2003 and has since earned a reputation as one of the most sought-after T20 freelancers.
In July he played for St Lucia Zouks in the Caribbean Premier League, and the 35-year-old will play for the Durban-based Dolphins franchise in South Africa's Ram Slam Twenty20 competition in November. He will then head to Australia for this year's KFC T20 Big Bash League season, where he will again don the green of the Melbourne Stars.
Last week, veteran Adelaide Strikers batsman Brad Hodge revealed he had also thrown his hat in the ring to be part of the PSL. Hodge, 40, enjoyed a productive stint in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) this year with Guyana, finishing as the tournament's seventh-highest runs-scorer, and will again line up for the Strikers in his dual role of batsman and assistant coach in BBL|05. "I've put my name down to be a part of it – fingers crossed, you never know what can happen," Hodge told cricket.com.au. "My name just gets put into a draft, and hopefully someone picks me up and I can contribute," he added.
PSL SIGNINGS SO FAR: AUSTRALIA: Brad Hodge, ENGLAND: Kevin Pietersen, Ravi Bopara, Luke Wright, Tim Bresnan, Jade Dernbach, Chris Jordan, WEST INDIES: Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy, Sunil Narine, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, Denesh Ramdin, Jason Holder, NEW ZEALAND: Jesse Ryder, Grant Elliott, James Franklin, BANGLADESH: Shakib Al Hasan, SRI LANKA: Angelo Mathews, Lasith Malinga, Thisara Perera , SOUTH AFRICA: Johan Botha.