Former England captain Kevin Pietersen has revealed that his fallout with the England and Wales Cricket Board over the Indian Premier League played a major role in bringing his international career to an early end. Speaking on a podcast with Ranveer Allahbadia, Pietersen reflected on the personal cost of backing franchise cricket at a time when England’s cricket establishment was far less accepting of the IPL.

Pietersen said he knew the choice came with risks, but he stood by it because he believed players should have the freedom to explore opportunities in global T20 leagues. He admitted, however, that the decision came at a steep price.

“I made big sacrifices, I lost my career because of it,” Kevin Pietersen said when asked whether he had helped pave the way for English players to feature in the IPL. “100%, it’s the only reason why everybody in that establishment went against me.”

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England first allowed centrally contracted players to take part in the IPL in 2009, though only for a limited window. Before that, the ECB had blocked its players from participating in the tournament’s inaugural season. Pietersen, who was already dealing with tensions involving then coach Peter Moores, joined Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2009 and placed franchise cricket ahead of international duty.

The South Africa-born batter said he had far more cricket left in him when his England career ended at 33. By then, he had played 104 Test matches, but he believes he should have gone much further.

“I was 33 when my England career finished, after 104 Test matches. I should have played 150–160 Tests and scored 12,000–13,000 runs. That’s what I should have achieved,” he said.

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Kevin Pietersen finished his Test career with 8,181 runs at an average of 47.3, including 23 centuries and 35 half-centuries. He also recalled how the ECB used the media to attack him during the dispute.

“The ECB used The Telegraph to go after me… I don’t want to go too deep into it,” he said. Pietersen later played for Delhi Daredevils and Rising Pune Supergiant, and was recently appointed mentor of Delhi Capitals for IPL 2025.