Kevin Pietersen has slammed the ECB for shutting the door on his international future with England, saying he he was ‘devastated’ at the decision.
Pietersen, writing for The Telegraph, believes he has been deceived into thinking he still had a future with England. Andrew Strauss, England’s new director of cricket, announced on Tuesday that Pietersen was not part of their plans for the summer, despite scoring an unbeaten triple century for Surrey.
‘I am absolutely devastated that it looks like my hopes of an England recall have been brought to a close, especially given everything that has been said and asked of me,’ wrote Pietersen.
‘They have used the word “trust” to justify not selecting me, well, trust is a two-way thing. I couldn’t believe just half an hour after I had my meeting, the result of it was on the internet and on the BBC airwaves. Now I certainly didn’t tell anybody, so who did? They say they don’t trust me but how can anybody trust them?’
Pietersen writes that he expected Strauss to tell him that England had a good batting order at the moment but if he continued to score runs and if an injury occurred, he would be in contention to play.
‘I would naturally have to earn my recall, but at least I would be eligible. But no. Quite simply, I feel deeply misled. Tom has tried to say that Colin Graves was misrepresented by the media when he said there was a way back for me.
‘I’m afraid, as everyone can clearly see, this is the biggest load of rubbish. I had two phone conversations with Colin Graves and he was crystal clear in saying I had to get a county, score runs and that there was a clean slate. He said that when he comes in as chairman he wants the best players playing for England. He told me that on the phone in two separate conversations. He also repeated it to national newspapers.
‘I have done everything I can. Was I lied to by the chairman? Only he can answer that. Tom Harrison and Andrew Strauss have said today that all three of them are united in this decision, so I don’t know what to think.’
Pietersen said he was angry and hurt but knows there is nothing he can do about it. He also confirmed that Strauss offered him the chance to be part of Strauss’ ‘advisory panel’.
‘But I told him to forget it. How can he in one sentence say we cannot trust you and then in the next try and say we want you to be on a board because you have such a wonderful cricket brain?
‘I just find it incredibly deceitful what has happened to me and am frankly finding it difficult to understand right now. I have done everything I have been asked. I keep asking myself, what more could I do?
‘Under the agreement of releasing me from my IPL contract, Sunrisers Hyderabad have the right to recall me for the final stages of the tournament, so on Friday – at their request – I’ll be travelling out to India. It’ll give me a good opportunity to cool down and assess what I’m going to do next. I’m just sorry it won’t be putting on an England shirt.’
Read Pietersen’s full column here.
