Pietersen to return to Dolphins for South African T20 league

Last season, 36-year-old scored 401 runs in seven innings for Durban-based franchise

DURBAN: Former England batting star Kevin Pietersen will play for South African cricket franchise Dolphins again this season in the national T20 competition, it was announced Wednesday.

The 36-year-old South African has been hired by the Durban-based team for five group games and will remain if they reach the knockout stages.

Dolphins finished runners-up in the T20 competition last season with Pietersen scoring 401 runs in seven innings.

Pietersen has been sidelined since April, recovering from an injury he sustained playing in the Indian Premier League.

Born in Pietermaritzburg, 80 kilometres north-west of Durban, Pietersen quit South Africa because he believed racial transformation policies in sport would deprive him of national team opportunities.

Quickly establishing himself as a batting star in England, he represented his adopted country in 104 Tests and 136 one-day internationals.

Pietersen was axed two years ago after a 5-0 Ashes drubbing by Australia and has become a T20 batsman-for-hire, playing in various competitions from Australia to the West Indies.