Kevin Pietersen’s career came to end on Wednesday as he has not been selected in the team for the upcoming tour of the West Indies and the subsequent World Twenty20 Championships in Bangladesh.
Pietersen had played 104 Tests and 136 ODIs and is set to end as England’s highest run-scorer in all formats of the game after a career spanning nine years.
Pietersen said in her statement, “Playing cricket for my country has been an honour. Although I am obviously very sad the incredible journey has come to an end, I’m also hugely proud of what we, as a team, have achieved over the past nine years.”
Pietersen has 8181 Test runs at an average of 47.28 and 4440 ODI runs at 40.73 under his belt. The right-hander has 1176 runs in the 37 Twenty20 Internationals he has played so far.
Pietersen said, “I feel extremely fortunate to have played at a time of great success for England cricket alongside some of the best cricketers the country has ever produced. I want to thank everyone for their fantastic support and I wish the team the very best of success going forward. I believe I have a great deal still to give as a cricketer. I will continue to play but deeply regret that it won’t be for England.”
The dramatic announcement was made by the ECB after a disastrous Ashes series in Australia which the English team lost 0—5.
Newly-appointed ECB managing director Paul Downton said it was a “tough decision” to drop Pietersen as part of a rebuilding process with the focus on next year’s World Cup.
Dowton said, “Everyone was aware that there was a need to begin the long-term planning after the Australia tour.”
“Therefore we have decided the time is right to look to the future and start to rebuild not only the team but also team ethic and philosophy.”
He also said, “England cricket owes a debt of gratitude to Kevin who has proved to be one of the most talented and exciting players to ever represent the country and his 13,797 runs are a testimony to his immense skill.”
Bureau Report
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