Kevin Pietersen accuses Andrew Strauss of 'hypocrisy' over decision to allow England players to join IPL

Pietersen was at odds through his international career with Strauss and the ECB over his desire to play in the Indian Premier League

Kevin Pietersen has accused Andrew Strauss and the ECB of 'hypocrisy' (Getty Images)

Kevin Pietersen has labelled England's apparent willingness to send players to future Indian Premier League events as "hypocrisy".

During his international career, Pietersen found himself at odds with the England and Wales Cricket Board over his desire to play in the IPL as the tournament often clashed with the beginning of the English domestic season.

However, ECB director Andrew Strauss said earlier this week that international players may be allowed to play in lucrative Twenty20 leagues in the future in a bid to boost England's hopes in limited-overs competitions.

"The great thing about going to those tournaments is that you go as an overseas player, so you're under pressure to perform and win games," he said.

"If someone is a white-ball specialist and his focus in the short term is on white-ball cricket, then it seems like an easy decision to make (sending a player to the IPL)."

The former England captains have a notoriously rocky relationship, with Strauss slamming the door shut on Pietersen resuming his international career earlier this year over a "massive trust issue".

Pietersen feels slighted by Strauss' latest announcement and took to Twitter to announce his incredulity.

He wrote: "I think all I should do is laugh at this! I don't know why the media let him off with this when they murdered me!

"With this decision now, the whole situation is proving to be personal!

"I do applaud the idea! I thought I'd just expose some hypocrisy!"

After Pietersen's outburst, the ECB posted comments from Strauss, who clarified his position on the social networking site.

Strauss said: "I can't foresee any circumstances in which we would weaken our Test team in order to allow a player to play in the IPL or any other franchise-based competition.

"This is about striking the right balance in the long-term between red and white-ball cricket and giving players greater opportunities to improve in both formats."

PA