Former England captain and flamboyant batsman Kevin Pietersen believes that international matches should not be scheduled during the time the Indian Premier League (IPL) takes place.

The cash-rich IPL will be played across six venues, initially without spectators, from April 9-May 30. During that span of time, Pakistan will be touring South Africa and Zimbabwe while Bangladesh will be touring Sri Lanka.

Cricket boards need to realise that the IPL is the biggest show in town. DO NOT schedule ANY international games whilst it’s on. V v v [Very, very, very] simple!” said Pietersen in a tweet on his official Twitter account.

Pietersen’s tweet comes after it was confirmed that key South Africa players will leave for IPL after the second ODI of the ongoing series against Pakistan.

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These include players such as Kagiso Rabada (Dehli Capitals), Quinton de Kock (Mumbai Indians), Lungi Ngidi (Chennai Super Kings), David Miller (Rajasthan Royals) and Anrich Nortje (Dehli Capitals). The players were already not part of Proteas squad for the upcoming T20I series against Pakistan.

A contract between Cricket South Africa (CSA) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was cited as a reason for their early departure.