Kevin Pietersen held talks with a ­representative of the Bangalore Royal Challengers when England played their one-day match in the Indian city last November but at least two other Indian Premier League franchises are interested in signing the former England captain. Indeed, if Pietersen were to decide to skip England’s two home Tests against West Indies and play the full six weeks rather than a fortnight in the IPL, he could spark a bidding war that would see teams tempted to blow their $2m budget on securing his signature.