Pietersen plotting T20 return

Kevin Pietersen is in talks with the ECB over a possible return to one-day cricket, which would make him eligible to participate in the Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka in September.

London: Kevin Pietersen is in talks with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) over a possible return to one-day cricket, which would make him eligible to participate in the Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka in September.

It is understood that Pietersen’s representatives met with ECB officials this week as the selectors prepared to choose their 30-man squad for the World Cup, as it has to be submitted to the International Cricket Council (ICC) Pietersen announced his retirement from one-day international cricket just six weeks ago he made it clear he still wanted to play Twenty20 cricket for England but was prevented from doing so by the terms of his central contract, which state a player has to be available for all forms of one-day cricket The ECB has refused to comment on the meeting on Thursday, but sources claim the board and coach Andy Flower will not back down from their hard-line stance, a newspaper reports. Pietersen had earlier refused to ruled out making a comeback in the one-day format, and had expressed hope that some kind of compromise formula with ECB could be arranged, which would clear his way for playing T20 cricket for England. Time is running out for this tournament with the selectors meeting on Friday to choose the 30-man squad, which has to be trimmed to 15 by Aug 17. ANI