Kevin Pietersen has revealed he is is “hopefully” going to make his Indian Premier League return this week, after missing Delhi Daredevils’ opening two fixtures with a finger injury.
Pietersen, 33, was signed to a $880,000 (Dh3.23 million) contract in February following the high-profile demise of his England career.
He has been unable to take to the field for Delhi since, after suffering a bruised finger in pre-season with county cricket outfit Surrey.
Gary Kirsten’s side are in action today, when they face Chennai Super Kings at Zayed Cricket Stadium. Officials have said that no decision has yet been made on whether he will play in Abu Dhabi, with consultations between management and the medical team to follow.
Pietersen tweeted he would not be undergoing surgery to correct the problem and would soon be available.
“I’ll play this week hopefully! Pain is weakness leaving the body!” read his message on Instagram.
He had previously tweeted a picture of his heavily swollen digit, saying: “This is why I’ve missed a couple games…”.
Pietersen was present for Delhi’s loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore and the nailbiting win against Kolkata Knight Riders.
At the second match in Dubai International Stadium last weekend, he was pictured shaking hands with his left hand rather than the orthodox right as he nursed his injury.
Speaking after the victory against KKR, stand-in skipper Dinesh Karthik said the franchise were eager to unleash the heavy-hitting batsman.
“He is getting better, I can tell you that for sure. We are monitoring him really closely, and the first chance we have, we will let him play.” he said.
If Pietersen misses the meeting with CSK, he could then make his comeback against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday or champions Mumbai Indians on Sunday.
The controversial batsman missed last season’s IPL after suffering a knee injury on England’s tour of New Zealand.
