Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen won’t rule out a return to Test cricket with South Africa.

Pietersen last represented England in January 2014, and would be eligible to play for the country of his birth in January 2018.

He scored 8,181 runs at an average of 47.28 in 104 Tests for England after making his debut during the 2005 Ashes series. He was dropped after England’s 5-0 Ashes defeat in Australia in 2013-14.

Pietersen admitted that he had considered the possibility of him playing for the Proteas.

‘Yes, it is a thought in my head,’ he said in an interview in India, where he is playing the IPL. ‘If it happens, it happens, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. Obviously, playing international is something I have done for a very long time.

‘Do I miss playing international cricket? Do I miss batting in international cricket? Yes I do, very much, so you never know.

‘The eligibility for South Africa is still [over] a year away. So we will have to wait and see but [an England call-up] is definitely still an option.’