Kevin Pietersen: Was his sacking justified?

Kevin Pietersen: Unjustified sacking?

So, the news is out. Kevin Pietersen, one of the most charismatic batsmen to have ever stepped foot onto a cricket ground has been “told” to hang up his boots as “his services are no longer required by the national team”.

Yes, Alastair Cook, the skipper was a part of the 3-men panel which talked to him and yes, he dominantly wanted Pietersen to retire from English team. But who said what doesn’t matter now.

The bottom line is that the 33 year old won’t play for England ever again.

ECB managing director Paul Downton said,

“The time is right to rebuild not only the team but also the team ethic.”

Pietersen later confirmed,

“Playing cricket for my country has been an honour, every time I pulled on the England shirt was a moment of huge pride for me and that is something that will live with me forever.

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. 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.”

With 8,181 runs under his belt in 104 tests that he played for the team with an average of over 47, he is easily one of the most successful test batsmen for England.

He had had his demons in the past.

Born in South Africa, but denied a national jersey, one always wondered throughout his career, what services would he have provided to the Proteas.

Immensely talented, Pietersen could walk down the pitch and hit the ball out of the park just like that. He also revolutionized the limited over batting with his ever evolving footwork and shot selection.

Kevin Pietersen is also one of the most loved cricketers over the globe. He has been bestowed with affection from fans across the subcontinent for his ever smiling yet focused nature.

Pietersen was a key factor in England’s historic Ashes triumph of 2005. Since then he just became the pivotal spoke of the wheel. He was the pillar of the strong English middle order and a respected veteran across the dressing room.

Pietersen was even deemed as “the best batsman England has” during the phase by the opposing sides.

Warne during an interview of 2006 said,

“I was interested to see how he would get on in Australia in 2006–07 on pitches with more bounce because bowlers had tried to test him with the short ball. He was still England’s best batsman.”

He was named the skipper of the national side in mid 2007 and he did lead his side to wins against South Africa.

It was in late 2008 that England suffered major losses on their tour to India under the leadership of Kapers.

In January 2009, the media reported about KP calling emergency meetings with the ECB in order to discuss the role of then coach Peter Moores. He was said to have disagreements over several issues including the sudden inclusion of former skipper Michael Vaughan into the national side for Caribbean tour.

Moores was removed from his position and KP suddenly resigned from captaincy immediately shocking the world after his dissatisfaction with the way things had gone public about the proceedings.

Later, Pietersen told the media that he was not going to resign but ECB had seen to it so he had to.

ECB vice president Dennis Amiss defended him by saying,

“We don’t believe Kevin Pietersen leaked the information, we understand his frustration at it being leaked by other parties.”

Andrew Strauss was named the captain later.

In February 2009, Royal Challengers Bangalore of the Indian Premier League bought Pietersen for USD 1,550,000 which made him the highest-paid IPL player along with Andrew Flintoff.

He also succeeded Rahul Dravid as the skipper of Vijay Mallya’s franchise that year.

His career was full of ups and downs and he announced his retirement from limited over cricket in 2012. He did continue to play in the tests for England though.

In the summer of 2012, South Africa was on a tour of England. Pietersen played an inspiring knock and went on to make his 21st test ton. He also took 3-52, his career best with the ball.

He hinted during a media interaction that the third test of the series might be his last . In the press conference, he also mentioned issues within the dressing room that needed to be resolved. In the following days, allegations were made that he sent defamatory text messages to members of the South African dressing room, with skipper Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower said to be referred to within the messages.

Later, KP had talks with the ECB following which in a video interview posted on Youtube, he unreservedly committed his future to all forms of cricket for England. He was dropped for the third Test after failing to provide clarification about those messages, despite announcement of the squad being delayed to provide more time for him to do so.

He later returned for the India tour in the later part of the year under the captaincy of Alastair Cook after board and the player had come to an agreement and Pietersen issued an apology afterwards,

“It’s been a horrible situation for all those involved and we are happy that we are able to draw a line under it and move on for a better result for England cricket. I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to my team mates, supporters and the ECB over the situation that has arisen over the last couple of months.”

He was a part of the English team until the recently concluded Ashes in which though he performed ordinarily, he was still the highest run getter for England in one of the most uninspired performances of the English side in recent years.

Yet, it was felt by the selectors that he was being a blockage in the rebuilding of the team they are planning.

He was just 33 which for a batsman, is not exactly old.

Pietersen is the highest run getter for England and one of the most recognised names in world cricket.

The question arises here is, was his sacking justified? Didn’t he deserve better than that?

And more importantly, were ECB and Cook affiliated enough to decide about KP’s career?

The writer feels that this should have been a personal decision and a player of KP’s stature deserved better than just being handed the judgement.