London: England captain Alastair Cook has warned his team that there should not be a repeat of the ‘Kevin Pietersen fiasco’ during the team’s tour of India, and has promised to protect the already tarnished image of English cricket.
Pietersen met coach Andy Flower and a number of senior players last week in a bid to kick-start his ‘reintegration’ process with the team after having been included in the squad for the upcoming tour to India.
“Clearly, lessons from what has happened over the last two months need to be learned. You don’t want the situations that have arisen because it damages English cricket and it damages the team,” the Daily Express quoted Cook, as saying.
“We know that and we have got to give our best as a side, as players and as a management, so as not to let it happen again,” he added.
According to the paper, the controversial cricketer was earlier side-lined from his team, after he sent a series of controversial texts to South African players, which has now left many doubting whether Pietersen will ever be forgiven by his teammates.
Cook also claimed that he felt lucky to be captaining the England team, and said that would keep giving his best as long as he retains his position.
“I don’t know what is going to happen over the next 18 months or the next few years or however long I am lucky enough to be England captain,” he said.
“You don’t know what is around the corner, but throughout my career I think I have managed to deal with every situation quite well – whatever has been thrown at me. Hopefully I can take that into my captaincy as well,” he added.
ANI
First Published: Sunday, October 21, 2012, 12:43