Big blow for Kevin Pietersen, dropped from ICC World Twenty20

After a forgettable series, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had been thinking of taking some harsh decisions as far as some seniors were concerned. And one of first to be at the receiving end of ECB is none other than the flamboyant cricketer Kevin Pietersen.

Zee Media Bureau/Chaitan Papnai

London: After a forgettable tour of Australia, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had been thinking of taking some harsh decisions as far as some seniors were concerned. And one of first to be at the receiving end of ECB is none other than the flamboyant cricketer Kevin Pietersen. Kevin Pietersen has been informed by the ECB that he has not been included in the England's squad for the forthcoming tour of the Caribbean later this month nor the ICC World Twenty20 to be held in Bangladesh in March. Reacting to the move by ECB, Pietersen said according to BCC reports, "I will continue to play but deeply regret that it won't be for England. In the official statement, Paul Downton, the Managing Director England Cricket, said, "Clearly this was a tough decision because Kevin has been such an outstanding player for England as the fact that he is the country's leading run scorer in international cricket demonstrates.” Pietersen has played 104 Test Matches, 136 One Day internationals and 37 Twenty20 Internationals for England in a career which has spanned from November 2004 to the final Ashes Test match in Sydney in early January. During the return Ashes England lost their coach Andy Flower, saw untimely retirement of spinner Graeme Swann and an unceremonious exit of Jonathan Trott. The role of England captain Alastair Cook is also under scanner now. Cook could not lead from the front, nor could he create any wonders from his bat. None of their players barring Stuart Broad and Ben Stokes performed consistently. England lost 12 out of their 13 matches across all the formats in their recently concluded tour to Australia. The 33-year-old batsman, has been a England's leading run-scorer in all formats and his sacking is surely a bold step taken by the ECB, who really have to do a lot of introspection after the Ashes debacle.