With the news that the ECB put back their squad selection
from 9.30am to 2.30pm this Sunday you can only assume that Pietersen had been
dropped. His youtube video may just have saved him and forced a rethink with the selectors. If KP was to
be dropped, who would take his place and had he been notified prior to KP’s
video? If Jonny Bairstow or Chris Woakes had been told they were in and now
find themselves not in the squad a great deal of resentment will grow between
the two. Their most likely is already a great deal of resentment in the
dressing room towards KP. Not as suggested because of his IPL contract but
because of his selfish and individualistic ways which don’t seem to take into
account any of his colleagues. The England guys respect his talent and
understand why he is paid a load to play IPL; Who would want to watch Ali Cook
play IPL? What they don’t like is someone who is seemingly only interested in
himself and is putting the team ethic of England into question.
The problem with dropping KP currently is replacements. The
number 6 spot seems to be permanently open. Since Paul Collingwood’s retirement
England have selected 5 different no.6’s. Morgan, Bopara, Prior(batted 6 when
Patel at 7),Bairstow and Taylor. Taylor
is the most recent and had a promising start but there is no guarantee he will
secure this spot. Take into account the indifferent form of Andrew Strauss who
is coming to the end of his career paired with the number 6 spot and Pietersen
and there could be 3 spots in the top 6 up for grabs and no obvious
replacements. Personally I don’t think there are any replacements currently ready.
Joe Root looks a good long term bet as opener but needs a couple of years.
Stokes and Bairstow are good prospects and could bat at 4 and 6 but neither is
yet test quality. It would be a disaster if KP was to go with Strauss' career seemingly close to an end and the number 6 spot up in the air.
Without KP for the T20 world cup England had no chance.
Should he play we have an outside chance of winning. In ODI cricket KP has
struggled for a while. He has the talent to be dominant but in the last 4 years
he has been poor. There is no point having a Pietersen who doesn’t want to be
playing. Pick and choose his series in ODI cricket and make sure he is fit and
available for the next world cup. In test cricket Pietersen has been inconsistent
and is not as important as some people suggest. England could survive without
KP in test cricket but it would be a lot less exciting without him.
KP T20>> KP Test >> KP ODI
KP needs new friends. Whether it’s Piers Morgan, Lalit Modi
or whoever who is blowing smoke up KP’s backside they aren’t advising KP well
and they’ve not got KP’s best interests at heart.
There can be individuals in a team. There can be players in
a team who are not liked. KP is an individual and is not particularly liked by
most in the dressing room. The dressing room does respect his talent though.
Generally they will put up with a lot if he is performing. Unfortunately these
last few weeks have pushed Pietersen’s teammates to the brink. The video and
clear the air chat may bring it back from the brink but if Pietersen is back in
the squad he will have to keep his mouth shut and free of controversy for the foreseeable
future if he doesn’t want to stir up the tensions that are already there. If
selected he is in a last chance saloon.
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