By CricketCountry Staff
Former England cricketer Ian Botham on Saturday expressed that he is surprised at Kevin Pietersen’s retirement from limited-overs cricket, but also added that England should now look to have new breed of batsmen.
Published: Jun 02, 2012, 11:04 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 02, 2012, 11:04 PM (IST)
Kevin Pietersen announced retirement from ODIs and T20 internationals last Thursday © Getty Images
By CricketCountry Staff
London: Jun 2, 2012
Former England cricketer Ian Botham on Saturday expressed that he is surprised at Kevin Pietersen’s retirement from limited-overs cricket, but also added that England should now look to have new breed of batsmen.
“Life and sport move on and so will England. There is no point having a player in the dressing room if his heart is not in it and he doesn’t want to play. Once he made his decision, nothing was going to change it, so we must accept it and look forward.
“If he doesn’t want to play for England in whatever format, it might be time to let him go, wish him all the best then find someone who does want to be there and play one-day cricket for their country,” he added.
The former cricketer was quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror, “For a player of his class and caliber I would have thought he would want to go out on the biggest stage of all – a World Cup. Either the World T20 in September or the World Cup at the start of 2015 when he would have been 34. He is not exactly an old man,” he said.
England star batsman Kevin Pietersen last Thursday announced retirement from all international limited overs cricket.
Pietersen has been a key component of the England batting and would have been crucial to team’s chances in the upcoming T20 World Cup in September in Sri Lanka.
The South African-born batsman played 127 One-Day Internationals and 36 T20s for England.
Pietersen is known for his feisty batting and aggressive approach against fast bowlers.
