Pietersen rejected four-month contract before being axed

Controversial batsman Kevin Pietersen rejected a four-month contract offer from the England and Wales Cricket Board, hours before his ouster from the 16-member squad for the Test tour of India.

According to 'The Daily Telegraph', the contract included waiving his rights to any future legal action in employment disputes with the ECB, issuing another public apology to the South African side and pulling out from a contract with Asian-based broadcaster ESPN to provide studio analysis from the World Twenty20.

However, the South African-born batsman on Monday turned down the offer as it came with no future assurances.

According to the four-month deal, Pietersen would have had to attend England's training camp in Dubai at the end of October, but would not have been a part of India's Test tour.

"He was told the Dubai camp would provide a chance to begin the healing process with his team-mates which clearly has some way to go. But Pietersen believes that process will happen much quicker during a Test-match tour rather than a training camp," the paper added.

Pietersen was dropped from the English Test side last month for sending "provocative" text messages to the visiting South African players and allegedly criticising his own skipper Andrew Strauss.

He was also blamed of giving advice to the South Africans about how to get Strauss out.

The 32-year-old flamboyant cricketer was axed for the final Test against Proteas, the subsequent ODI series and the current World Twenty20 championship. And yesterday, he was also left out of the team that will tour India later this year in November.

Following the text scandal, Pietersen met Strauss, who has since retired from all forms of the game, new England skipper Alastair Cook, coach Andy Flower and members of the team hierarchy in a bid to resolve the issue.

"He also met other members of the England management when it is understood he guaranteed his commitment to playing all forms of international cricket for England until the end of the next World Cup in 2015," the paper said.

The paper, however, claimed that the "ECB contacted Pietersen yesterday to open negotiations about a new 12-month central contract."

Pietersen is currently in Sri Lanka and expectations are that the efforts to bring the two warring parties on the same page may continue as ECB CEO David Collier and managing director of the England team, Hugh Morris are also going to put up there for the World Twenty20, which culminates on October 7.