Kevin Pietersen: Batsman could lose out if unwelcome revelations about his behaviour inside the England set-up emerge

Pietersen will be up for auction for the Indian Premier League franchises on Thursday

Kevin Pietersen's hopes of cherry-picking lucrative Twenty20 assignments around the world in the wake of his sacking by the England and Wales Cricket Board could be under threat following last week's support for the maverick batsman from Piers Morgan.

Pietersen will be up for auction for the Indian Premier League franchises on Thursday – he will be free to play a full season for the first time – and is in a position to negotiate a new contract with his county, Surrey, since the termination of his central contract with the ECB.

Those deals could be affected if unwelcome revelations about his behaviour inside the England set-up emerge in the near future.

The ECB have been extremely careful about commenting on the reasons for their decision after making a legal arrangement with Pietersen's camp that they would say nothing until September, when his central contract would have been due to expire. Yet the board have still faced demands that they should explain their reasons for sacking the star player.

Morgan's claim on Twitter that wicketkeeper Matt Prior had "stabbed [Pietersen] in the back" and related revelations about what occurred in a clear-the-air team meeting before the Fourth Test in Melbourne mean the board could view the legal deal as null and void. And it may make them want to give their side of the story all the more.

At the meeting, the players were said to have discussed their relationship with coach Andy Flower, who stood down at the end of last month after the Ashes whitewash.