Mumbai: Star England cricketer Kevin Pietersen is not at all happy with how the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 auction transpired, terming the marquee event in the Indian cricket calendar as a “slap in Test cricket’s face”.
IPL franchise Rising Pune Supergiants created history at the auction, snapping-up England all-rounder Ben Stokes for Rs 14.5 crore, which essentially made the Englishman the highest-paid foreign player in the 10-year history of the cash-rich tournament.
Another England player also scored big at the auction. Tymal Mills became the second most expensive player in the auction, as he was bought by a Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 12 crore.
However, Pietersen, who himself earned handsomely in IPL, went on to criticise the price tag on Mills who is regarded as a T20 specialist.
Mills, who can consistently bowl at speeds of 140 kmph, was diagnosed with a congenital back condition last year – something that threatened to end his cricketing career.
While his condition prevents him from playing the longer formats of the game, the doctors have given Mills the go-ahead to play T20 cricket.
However, Pietersen believes that such a huge price tag for a player who only plays T20 cricket is disrespectful for Test cricket.
The 36-year-old, in a Twitter conversation with one of his followers, also went on to lament that “Test cricket is dying”, and that “youngsters are being lured” by the big money in T20 cricket.
However, ‘KP’ also went on to say that he is personally happy to see young players coming into the limelight because of the rise of T20 cricket.
