England's two A-list cricketers join the IPL this weekend as the sport's newest phenomenon takes on a different shape.

Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen, England's Lions in the international arena, will be among the alpha males of the second season, which has been relocated to South Africa due to the timing of national elections in India.

The pair are considered the most valuable performers in the IPL (each rated at a whopping £1.12million-a-season, to be paid pro rata) but their worth to England's Ashes bid later this summer will mean interest from these shores will be as much in their health as their performance.

Both KP, Feddie will feature on Saturday's matches

The opening day of action on Saturday features both men: Flintoff's Chennai Super Kings facing Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians and the Bangalore Royal Challengers, led by Pietersen, take on inaugural winners Rajasthan Royals, captained by his ex-Hampshire colleague Shane Warne, at Newlands.

Such was the success of the inaugural season, sponsors and the world's greatest players alike have been falling over themselves to become part of the IPL's glitz and glamour.

The relocation, which forced the reduction of the tournament by a week, presents the IPL with new challenges to overcome - not least how to interest South African cricket fans into coming in great numbers to watch franchises for which they have no affiliation.

Last year's tournament took little selling to Indian crowds who already regard cricket as their second religion and the prospect of watching young Indian players alongside heroes like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni merely increased the already massive demand.

This time, however, they face a bigger test of their sales pitch in a tournament being staged in an alien environment and without several leading Australians - Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke have both withdrawn to prepare for this summer's Ashes series.

Their absence raised eyebrows, particularly given the presence of Flintoff and Pietersen, who are due back in England on May 1 to prepare for the first Test at Lord's against West Indies.

Flintoff flew into Cape Town on Thirsday morning to little fanfare but the volume is about to be pumped up in South Africa, Indian style.

"IPL is going to be like a carnival"

Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, declared party season open, fittingly coinciding with 31-year-old Flintoff's arrival.

"The entire second season is going to be like a carnival," Modi said.

The reaction of the South African public will be vital to this year's IPL - franchise owners and sponsors want to be associated with success and that means full-house atmospheres reverberating through television sets across Asia and beyond.

If Flintoff, for one, was expecting a quiet fortnight to break him into the 2009 summer, the organisers have other ideas.

But rather than worry about the gruelling schedule ahead, Flintoff believes the IPL will be the perfect stage to help him reach his peak - and also provide him with the opportunity of spying on opposition players.

"It's been frustrating with the hip injury, thigh injury and getting hit on the thumb just before the end of the tour of the West Indies and I think the IPL will be good for me," said Flintoff.

"There are few people putting it down but keeping playing should help me out a lot. It is when I stop and start that my body is at it's most vulnerable.

"I know I'm only bowling four overs a game, but it will give me a chance to work on my game in between matches going into a Test series and I will be working with top facilities out in South Africa."

T20 World Cup is going to be huge, says Flintoff

Flintoff will get to mingle with players like Australia's Matthew Hayden, India captain Dhoni, New Zealand all-rounder Jacob Oram and Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan, an old friend from his time as Lancashire's overseas player, at Chennai.

It will also give him a chance to look and learn about their preparation techniques and may give him a better insight into their strengths and weaknesses before the ICC World Twenty20 in June.

"The Twenty20 World Cup is going to be huge and international Twenty20 cricket is going to become bigger and bigger," said Flintoff.

"While I'm out there I'll be watching the likes of Dhoni, who has played a lot of it, and Hayden who had a good IPL last year. I will be speaking to a few of the Indian guys and see if I can pick their brains.

"I think you'll find players helping each other out and talking to each other, but the flip side of that is that other sides have England team-mates so you have to be a bit cautious about what you're saying.

"Ultimately, it's all about playing for England and by passing on a bit of information about one of your players could be the to the detriment of this team and that's something you can't do."