Australia head coach Darren Lehmann has launched a stinging attack on Kevin Pietersen, after the former England batsman failed with the bat in BBL 06 Melbourne Stars’ semi-final loss against Perth Scorchers.

Lehmann took to Twitter to say that the Melbourne-based outfit should release the England star and even suggested that the batsman is being overpaid.

Pietersen, who is only behind Chris Lynn in terms of runs scored in the BBL ever since making his debut, signed a two-year contract extension last year in a deal said to be worth AUD$250,000 (£150,000) per season. He also received a $100,000 bonus from Cricket Australia to promote the BBL.

https://twitter.com/darren_lehmann/status/823855105438908416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Lehmann’s tweet has come few days after Pietersen had blasted the Australian selectors for not allowing Marcus Stoinis to play against Sydney Sixers despite not being a part of the playing eleven in the ongoing ODI series between Australia and Pakistan.

He had said:

“I just find it bitterly disappointing that a guy can’t play in a fixture for us, which is a big fixture for us, when he’s sitting in a hotel room.”

“I’m really disappointed. I’m working with him on a personal level to improve his game so that he can benefit Australian cricket, which he could do on Sunday, if we spend more time together, but he’s not going to be here.”

Well, the comment from the Australia coach looks more of a personal attack as the stats clearly suggest Pietersen was one of Stars’ most important players. The right-handed batsmen could score only five runs in the semi-final but overall, he had a brilliant tournament. With 268 runs at an average of over 38, he was the leading run-scorer for his franchise. Overall, he was the sixth highest run-scorer in this edition and was only behind Brendon McCullum in terms of overseas batsmen.