Kevin Pietersen will not be flying out to India to join Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday after suffering an achilles injury that will keep him from competing in the IPL.

Hot on the heels of Andrew Strauss’s decision to rule him out of England duty for the season, the Surrey batsman had been due to travel to Hyderabad but a calf scan on Wednesday afternoon on a suspected calf problem revealed an achilles injury that will keep him out of action for two weeks, and means he will not be fit for the latter stages of the IPL.

His time off the field for a scan before play and lateness of his return when his team-mates were fielding meant that Pietersen was barred from batting higher than No7 against Leicestershire on Wednesday, but Steven Davies’s 115 not out meant that he was not needed as Surrey were victorious.

Instead of flying out to India, Pietersen tweeted a picture of himself on Wednesday evening boarding a private jet and wrote: “Off to Dubai. Night guys x”.

On Thursday the 34-year-old sent out a message of thanks for the support of his fans over a difficult week, tweeting: “Can I please thank all of you from all over the world for your wonderful support over the last few days ... it means SOOOO much!”