Kevin Pietersen’s plans to return to English county cricket moved a significant step closer after he endorsed reports he is about to agree to a release from his Indian Premier League contract.

Pietersen – axed in February 2014 after the Ashes whitewash in Australia, but hoping for a still unlikely international recall – retweeted an update in England’s Daily Telegraph, announcing the Sunrisers Hyderabad were preparing imminently to release him from his IPL commitments with them over the next two months.

That will be a key development as the record-breaking 34-year-old batsman seeks a new deal with Surrey who de-registered him at the end of last season.

New England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Colin Graves reignited Pietersen’s hopes of a return to the fold, contrary to the public remarks by anyone else associated with the governing body.

But a pre-requisite from Graves was that Pietersen must first find a way back into county cricket – and then, of course, start scoring runs again.

The starting point for Surrey has seemed to be his availability for all formats, starting as soon as possible.

A release from the IPL contract Pietersen secured at last month’s auction will be a major breakthrough for both parties.

The situation depicted in the Telegraph – for whom Pietersen is a big-name columnist – is that negotiations can soon be finalised for him to return to The Oval.