Kevin Pietersen is synonymous to controversy in English cricket. The talented right-hander has always drawn equal if not more attention off the field than because of his on-field exploits. The flamboyant player burst onto the scene with a terrific one-day series against his native country South Africa. Pietersen started his career playing in South Africa but had to move to England when the Rainbow nation ignored him.
Pietersen has been in the news since the time he donned English colors. People first doubted his loyalty but a tremendous performance in the Ashes under captain Michael Vaughan put a stop to that debate. There is no doubt that Pietersen is a world class batsman and it is amazing to watch the way he dominates the opposition. But for a player of his class, his off-field antics are pretty controversial.
The latest controversy in which Pietersen found himself is the text message row. There are reports that Pietersen sent text messages to South African players during the second Test at Headingly, the messages suppose to have derogatory comments against Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower. As a result the batsman has been dropped from the third Test against South Africa.
Pietersen is the England’s best batsman and maybe that is the reason why he survived for so long even after being involved in so many controversies. This incident has to be something big because it needs a lot of courage to drop a batsman of the caliber of Pietersen who saved the Headingly Test match for England.
Let’s have a look at some of the controversies that has surrounded Kevin Pietersen over the years.
Pietersen was made the England captain but the experience was not good for him. During his stint, it was believed that his relationship with coach Peter Moores was not good and they often disagreed over decisions. Moores was later sacked and Pietersen resigned as the captain.
Pietersen has always been a different sort of batsman and his switch-hit grabbed the attention of the complete cricket fraternity. Pietersen while playing the shot used to change his batting stance completely just before the bowler released the ball, some people said that the shot was against the rule and it was unfair on the bowlers.
English team has always kept its distance from Indian Premier League, but Pietersen has been one big supporter of it. Pietersen during the last season said that there was a lot of jealousy back home towards the league and that saddens him. The comment was not taken well by the British media and ex-players.
Pietersen’s retirement from the English one-day team was not well taken , he said that he had problems with the hectic schedule but said that he will like to play T20 cricket for the team, but the board would allow him to do so. Only after a month he changed his decision and said he is ready to play in all formats.
By Indian Sports News Network
