KP, Freddie hit hard by IPL late start

London:

The costliest players on the Indian Premier League roster, England's Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff stand to lose as much as 150,000 pounds (USD 219,511 approx) due to the organisers' decision to push back the event's start by a week as their work has been cut to 14 days.

Pietersen, who will captain Bangalore Royal Challengers, and Andrew Flintoff, set to turn out for Chennai Super Kings, were bought for a record $1.55 million by their respective franchisees in the players' auction.

The IPL was on Tuesday shifted to South Africa after its organisers failed to get the required security assurance from the Indian government.

England was also in the running to host the event but unpredictable weather at this time of the year in the country tilted the scales in South Africa's favour. The league's start was pushed back by a week to April 18 which means the England pair's three weeks' work has been reduced to two.

"Their pro-rata earnings will now be 300,000 pounds rather than 450,000 pounds," 'The Daily Telegraph' reported.

Pietersen and Flintoff, after completing their stints with the IPL, will return to play for England against West Indies.

Pietersen and Flintoff's pay-cut will also hurt their respective counties Hampshire and Lancashire, who are due to receive 10 per cent of their earnings. "Ideally I'd like to have played in India," admitted Flintoff.

"It's the Indian Premier League and you have the chance to play in front of those crowds and those venues and it's a special place to play cricket. I'm disappointed we're not going there but it's still taking place and if it's South Africa then I'm sure they'll put on a great tournament, but I don't think it will quite the same as if it had been in India," he said.