 Pietersen could play up to eight games in the IPL and Flintoff six |
Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen will go head to head on their Indian Premier League debuts on 11 April. The pair are among five key England players who will play in this year's tournament, having each been snapped up for a record �1.1m at the IPL auction. Flintoff will turn out for Chennai Super Kings, with Pietesen representing Bangalore Royal Challengers. The second IPL season begins on Friday 10 April in Jaipur and the final is set to be held in Mumbai on 24 May. Paul Collingwood, Ravi Bopara and Owais Shah are the three other leading English players involved after the England and Wales Cricket Board agreed to allow players to compete for the first three weeks of the competition.  | 606: DEBATE |
It had been thought Bopara and Shah may get longer stints but that likelihood is decreasing as both are currently important members of England's Test squad. Pietersen will play in eight games before the 30 April deadline, while Flintoff should be able to feature in six matches. The England all-rounder's participation was called into question after he picked up an injury during England's tour of the West Indies - but he insists he will be fit. The ECB had suggested Flintoff could be prevented from playing if he was deemed a risk ahead of the Ashes this summer. Hampshire all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas, currently in England's one-day squad, and Essex's Graham Napier are also hoping to nail down IPL deals.
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