England batting star Kevin Pietersen has taken a swipe at inferior Australians playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL), saying they are filling the places of talented Brits.

Pietersen and left-handed batsman Eoin Morgan are the only England players appearing in the lucrative Twenty20 event.

The nine-team tournament includes Australian international players such as Mitchell Johnson, Shane Watson and Michael Hussey as well as fringe Australian representatives and state players including Aiden Blizzard, Aaron Finch, James Faulkner and Luke Pomersbach.

Pietersen, who earns $US750,000 ($A720,900) for his role with the Delhi Daredevils, is teammates with Australian opening batsman David Warner.

“It would have been a lot better if guys like (James) Anderson, Tim Bresnan and Ravi Bopara were in the IPL,” Pietersen said in British tabloid The Sun.

“There are world-class players who are sitting in England wanting to play in the IPL when you’ve got second rate Australians getting gigs.”

Anderson and world No.1 ranked T20 bowler Graeme Swann were ignored in the IPL auction, said The Sun.

Top English players were possibly overlooked for the IPL due to availability issues which Pietersen said should be rectified.

“I think there should be a window for the IPL because it’s a magnificent tournament,” he said.

He added that jealousy could be the reason for negative attitudes in England towards the cash-rich IPL.

“There are a lot of money issues and I think that is what dampens it (IPL) in England. People think that it’s just a money-making racket, but so what? Sportsmen get paid. What are you going to do about it?” Pietersen said.

“The IPL is struggling to find acceptance in England. It saddens me. It’s down to a lot of jealousy.”