IPL 2020 Auction: Teams which vigorously bid for Kevin Pietersen in the 2009 Auction

Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen, who was the most sought after player in the Indian Premier League 2009 auction, was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for Rs 7.55 crore, making the most expensive overseas player in the competition back then.

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RCB, which was previously owned by beleaguered businessman Vijay Mallya, broke the bank for the maverick batsman and were vindicated in doing so as the Englishman put in some dazzling performances in the red shirt. He got Rs 1.35 crore more than what former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni had got in the first edition in 2008.

Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff the biggest buys in the IPL 2009 Auction

RCB, who had finished at the bottom half of the high-profile league in the inaugural edition, spent most of their total amount of $1.95 million on the highly talented Pietersen, who had a base price of $1.35 million.

Besides RCB, another team that showed interest in buying the right-hander was Rajasthan Royals. They started bidding too for Pietersen but pulled out when they realized that RCB owner Vijay Mallya was going all guns blazing to buy him.

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RCB had huge expectations from the Englishman but he failed to deliver during the IPL 2009 which took place in South Africa. He played six matches and scored a paltry 93 runs at a dismal average of 15.50. His strike rate was a moderate 109.41. His highest score was 37. He then left for England to fulfil his international duties as they had to host West Indies in a Test series.

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After a couple of seasons with RCB, he was picked up by the Deccan Chargers in 2011 but did not play a single game for them due to an injury. They let him go and he found a new home at the Delhi Daredevils in 2012.

He played for them for three years but after a disastrous 2014 campaign, he was not retained by them. He joined SRH in 2015 but was released by them prior to the 2016 season. He joined the RPS in 2016 but was ruled out after just 4 games and that pretty much ended his IPL career.

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