New Delhi, West Indies fast-bowler Kesrick Williams slammed former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen for the criticism the latter levelled at him during the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction in December last year.

"KP likes the spotlight. Nothing wrong with liking the spotlight but it is the way how you get the spotlight. At that point, nobody spoke to KP. He was not important. KP was off the map and KP just wanted a reason to be on the map," Williams said in a video uploaded on International Cricket Network 360's YouTube channel.

The 2020 IPL auction came on the heels of India's home T20I series against West Indies in which Williams made a big impression. The most famous passage of play from the series was the battle between him and India captain Virat Kohli in the 1st T20I, where the latter's unbeaten 94 off 50 balls helped the hosts chase down a target of 208, with more than one over to spare.

Former India cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar then predicted on Twitter that Williams should be targetted by franchises but Pietersen in reply said that he is 'not good enough' and 'has nothing special apart from his celebration'.

"Okay here we go - Kohli and Kesrick saga. I can't rap Kohli because Kohli is the big man. Let me just go after this guy who isn't as big as Kohli. Who just started playing, who just started making a name for himself," Williams said.

"Let me hit on Kesrick, let me see if he replies. Then we start something on Twitter, and then I get back into spotlight because right now Kesrick is in the spotlight, because he has something going on with India captain. I am going to jump on that'. That's what KP did."

Williams then replied with a 'thumbs up' emoji. He said that he still respects Pietersen for his career. "When he did it, I didn't say much. If I see KP right now, I would say 'Hi legend, pleasure to meet you, man. I won't fake it, I would mean it," he further said.