IPL looks at the English, eyes Pietersen, Flintoff

Collingwood is expected to sign a deal too, with Owais Shah, Stuart Broad and Ravi Bopara also the subjects of lucrative bids.

Star players Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff are likely to lead the English influx into the Indian Premier League with its cash-rich franchises lining up six-figure offers for them.

“It is believed that Pietersen is the subject of bids from all eight IPL franchises, while reports in India suggest Flintoff is close to a deal with the Kolkata Knight Riders, the glamorous team owned by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan,” The Daily Telegraph reported on Friday.

Both would command fees of more than USD 1.5 million (750,000) per year, the paper reported.

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England one-day captain Paul Collingwood is expected to sign an IPL deal, too, with Owais Shah, Stuart Broad and Ravi Bopara also the subjects of lucrative bids believed to be in the region of $300,000.

The English flavour was absent in the inaugural edition of the IPL because the England and Wales Cricket Board had denied permission to its players to feature in the cash-rich Twenty20 competition.

But players might dictate terms when the ECB’s new central contracts are signed, most probably on Monday.

However, the paper said, until the new central contracts are signed, the ECB will not issue the non-objection certificate a player needs before joining an IPL team.