Surrey have signed Kevin Pietersen for this summer on a contract that will see him play predominantly LV= County Championship cricket.
Pietersen has represented the county since 2010, last year just featuring in the NatWest T20 Blast.
The 34-year-old batsman will be available for Surrey’s first championship game, versus Glamorgan at the SWALEC Stadium from Sunday 19 April.
Pietersen, who has worked before with Surrey director of cricket Alec Stewart and head coach Graham Ford, said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be back at Surrey. It’s a club very close to my heart and Alec Stewart, Graham Ford and everyone at the club has been exceptionally supportive.
“There is a fantastic group of lads here and hopefully we can deliver what the great Surrey fans want to see – lots of runs and comprehensive victories.”
Pietersen is able to feature for Surrey from the start of the championship season after he was released from his contract to play for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League group phase.
Should Hyderabad reach the IPL’s knockout stages, Pietersen may be recalled which could see him miss Surrey’s championship matches with Northamptonshire from May 18 and Kent from May 24.
Asked when Pietersen will be available, Stewart told Surrey’s website: “Predominantly championship cricket to begin with. That’s not to say we won’t see him in the shorter versions of the game, but to begin with it’s very much championship cricket.
“The IPL situation is that he isn’t going to be playing in the group stages. If his franchise get into the knockout stages, they are entitled to call him back, which will mean he may miss games four and five.
“But otherwise he’s here to concentrate on four-day cricket and we’ll see what else there is to offer later on in the summer.”
