LONDON, (Reuters) – Kevin Pietersen’s wish for an England recall is unlikely to come true any time soon, according to selector James Whitaker who says the 34-year-old is not part of his plans.
The swashbuckling middle-order batsman, sacked in 2014, said he would “do anything” to regain his place when he talked to BBC radio yesterday, a few hours before England’s squad for next month’s tour to the West Indies was named.
“We haven’t had discussions at all about Kevin,” Whitaker told Sky Sports after naming his 16-strong party. “This last 12 months we’ve been succesfully rebuilding the test team and he’s not part of our plans.”
“We’ve produced some good middle-order players with Gary Ballance, Joe Root and Ian Bell continuing to perform well so we are happy with where we are in the middle order.”
Pietersen, who scored 8,181 runs in 104 tests for England, will play in the Indian Premier League next month although media reports suggest he is close to joining a county side for the forthcoming season.
“I would love to get county runs,” he said. “If I can do anything that can help me get back into it for England then it’s something I want to do. I love playing for England.”
Pietersen was given fresh hope of a recall at the start of this month when new England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Colin Graves said he might have a chance of getting back if he resumed his county career.
However, Graves’ suggestion was quickly knocked back by an ECB statement that said “nothing has changed”.