Kevin Pietersen appears to have called time on his career with a Tweet.

Posting on Friday, the former England batsman – who has been quite publicly edging closer to retirement over recent months – wrote: “BOOTS UP. Thank you.”

The post appears to suggest what Pietersen’s comments and career trajectory have been suggesting for some time – that the 37-year-old has ended his career.

A Twenty20 specialist since his high-profile England exile in the wake of the 2013/14 Ashes, Pietersen has been saying farewell wherever he has gone over the last year.

The South Africa-born batsman played his final professional match in England with Surrey last summer and bid farewell to the Big Bash – and the big time – with the Melbourne Stars in January.

Modest returns came at the Pakistan Super League and now Pietersen appears to be done, concentrating on his conservation work with rhinos.

Kevin Pietersen enjoyed great success with England
Kevin Pietersen enjoyed great success with England (Adam Davy/PA)

The Tweet may well mean something completely different, and of course, Pietersen could take up another lucrative offer should it come.

But if he has ridden into the sunset for the last time, a final innings of seven runs for Quetta Gladiators was not the end his story deserved.

England’s second-highest run scorer across all three forms of the game, Pietersen won four Ashes series and hit 8,181 runs in 104 Tests.

He captained England – briefly – and was Man of the Tournament as England won the World T20 title in 2010.

His international career ended acrimoniously, never playing for England again after a high-profile falling out in the wake of the Ashes whitewash of 2013/14.

T20 country-hopping followed, along with a move into broadcasting, and it remains to be seen whether cricket really has seen the last of ‘KP’.