 England announced their squads for the ODI and the T20I series against Pakistan
that starts from September 5. However, the biggest news was the expulsion of the
star English batsman, Kevin Pietersen from the two sides.
Pietersen has been going through some rough form in recent times and though
he had a good time at the ICC World T20, his batting before and after the tournament
has been a suspect. Pietersen was finding it difficult to get the runs against
Bangladesh, and now, against Pakistan, he just had an 80 to his name.
In the rest of the games, he has looked edgy and made life miserable for himself.
However, what is worse is that immediately after hearing of his selection,
but before the announcement was made official, Pietersen used to Twitter to
vent out his feelings. Pietersen wrote on his Twitter account, "Done for
rest of summer!! Man of the World Cup T20 and dropped from the T20 side too.
Its a f**k up!!," and also revealed that he was signed up for the county
of Surrey.
He did remove the message after some time, but by then, the message had been
circulated throughout the internet.
The chief of selectors, Geoff Miller said, "I'll talk to KP," He
also added that while it may or may not be an apology, the English coach, Andy
Flower will definitely have a word with him and try to resolve the matter.
Miller also added that the kind of language that Pietersen had used was not
acceptable and that he does not follow Twitter because he was not a great believer
in it. Miller added, "What I do is select sides with my co-selectors that
we think is right for England. My priority is the England side, and it
is not about individuals."
Pietersen also said that he was selected for the county of Surrey, after he
was refused to be picked up by Hampshire in the games.
Amongst other selections, England has also dropped Craig Kieswetter from the
ODI squad after poor batting form in the fifty overs version. His place will,
however, not be taken by Matt Prior, but by Steven Davies. Davies will also
play in the T20Is, but it is not yet sure whether he will be the number one
wicket-keeper, given that Kieswetter is still a part of that version. If Kieswetter
keeps wickets in the T20Is, then, England will have three different wicket-keepers
in the three versions of the game.
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