Kevin Pietersen believes other players may well follow Andrew Flintoff in opting not to sign central contracts in the future.

The England batsman insists Flintoff's decision to reject an incremental contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board in order to have total freedom over his one-day and Twenty20 playing commitments is an indication that central contracts are no longer an ideal fit for the modern game.

Pietersen told The Observer: "I think everybody needs to realise that something that was right seven years ago... is (necessarily) right now in terms of central contracts."

He added: "But I think the reality of it is now, with the Indian Premier League and everything around, central contracts are not necessarily going to be things people are going to look forward to."

Of his own contract status, Pietersen was keen to stress that Flintoff was in a "different position" because of his decision to retire from Test cricket due to ongoing injury problems.

The South Africa-born batsman, currently sidelined with an Achilles injury which forced him to miss the majority of the Ashes series this summer, said: "(Flintoff) puts such a workload through his legs and his knees and his ankles, I'm just a batsman. I love scoring runs for England."