LONDON, May 17: England’s flamboyant batsman Kevin Pietersen expects to be playing in India next year, and is close to signing the most lucrative deal yet witnessed in the Indian Premier League, after being tendered more than $4million for a three-year contract by an undisclosed IPL franchise.

According to a report in Daily Mail, the deal has been financed by one of India’s wealthiest families, who want Pietersen to sign “at any price”.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is currently the most valuable player in the competition, earning above $1.5million annually, but such is Pietersen’s appeal — on the field and off it — his final figure could yet top that.

The news comes as a blow to the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB), who had hoped to prevent their players from being lured to India ahead of a pivotal summer that includes the ICC World Twenty20 and the traditionally significant Ashes.

An ECB insider said that the head coach Peter Moores would have the final say on which contracted players would be permitted to join the IPL, but in Pietersen’s case, they were already resigned to making an exception.

Pietersen, 28, is approaching his prime as a cricketer. He has not missed a Test for England since making his debut in the 2005 Ashes.—Agencies