Legendary batsman Kevin Pietersen has announced the end is round the corner, as he prepares for his final stint on the cricket pitch in the Pakistan Super League.
Pietersen, aka KP, bid an emotional goodbye to cricket on his Instagram with a photo of him hugging his son.
“Countless goodbyes to @jessicalibertyx & my kids as a cricket player & this one this evening is the last one I’ll ever have to do. I’ve hated every goodbye but also known it’s work so just gotten on with it. The journey has been absolutely amazing & for the next 3/4 weeks I’ll be a current professional & then it’s chapter closed!
Had my time & loved it but the endless goodbyes & travel needs to calm down now. Cricket has been the best!”
Earlier during the Big Bash League, Pietersen had announced it was his last stint in Australia’s popular T20 league, hinting at a possible end to his cricketing career.
When asked directly if this could be the last time he stepped on the cricket field, he had said, “Possibly. I’m coming to the end of my career. My career is not going to be defined on how I play in the Big Bash. My career has already been defined by all my ups and downs through a long career.”
Few cricketers can claim to have had as colourful a career as Pietersen. Ever since he made his Test debut for England in the 2005 Ashes series, he became a fan favourite with his aggressive brand of cricket and, of course, his bizarre hairstyles.
But he continued to run into troubles with English cricket authorities – a love-hate relationship that eventually saw him getting sacked by the ECB after the 2013 Ashes campaign, as England attempted to rebuild their squad after a 5-0 thrashing by Australia.
Pietersen played 104 Tests for England, scoring 8181 runs with an average of 47.28. He also played 136 ODIs and 37 T20Is for his country. After getting sidelined by the England board, KP became a household name in the domestic T20 circuit, as he blasted boundaries all over the world in the shortest format of the game.
He represents Quetta Gladiators in the PSL.
