England stars pledge part of their IPL fees

England stars Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff will give away 10 per cent of their Indian Premier League earnings to their respective counties Hampshire and Lancashire.

This was agreed after England players were allowed a three-week window for this year's IPL which means they will miss the start of the county season.

"It's something the players are supportive of. One game's absence could net a county a fair bit of money, so commercially it makes sense. The counties would probably prefer it that way round than having a player for one game that he might not have played in anyway," said Sean Morris, the chief executive of the Professional Cricketers' Association.

The figure of 10 per cent was reached after consultation between the PCA, Hugh Morris and John Carr of the England and Wales Cricket Board, and Rod Bransgrove, the chairman of Hampshire, and his Lancashire counterpart, Michael Cairns.

If Pietersen, reportedly being courted by Bangalore Royal Challengers, fetches as much as $1.5 million at the players auction in Goa on February 6, his pro-rata salary of almost $650,000 for three weeks' work would earn his county 46,000 Pound ($62,766).

"It's a sensible and adult arrangement. Hopefully, it's given every one what they wanted," Bransgrove said. Morris indicated that the ECB could allow their best players longer stretches in the IPL in future.

"It doesn't make sense to have conflicting games between international cricket and the IPL, so we could reach the stage where England players are available for the whole tournament," Morris was quoted as saying by The Guardian.