ENG vs AUS: Kevin Pietersen Bashes Jos Buttler For Benching Harry Brook In ICC World Cup 2023

With England struggling in the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, their former captain Kevin Pietersen has said Dawid Malan should not be in the playing eleven.

England’s World Cup campaign is in disarray. Arriving in the tournament as the defending champions, they were one of the strongest contenders for the title. However, the Jos Buttler-led side have failed to live up to the expectations so far and are on the verge of getting knocked out of the competition.

They began their title defense with an embarrassing 9-wicket loss at the hands of New Zealand. In the next game, England opened their account with a 137-run win over Bangladesh but the win turned out to be a flash in the pan. The win was followed by four successive defeats. England suffered a historic loss against Afghanistan before suffering the same fate against South Africa, Sri Lanka, and hosts India.

Kevin Pietersen on England’s team combination:

As of now, England are reeling at the tenth spot in the points table with just 1 win from 6 games. Along with Bangladesh, they are the only team with just one win in the tournament so far. And with England underperforming in the ongoing tournament, Kevin Pietersen has come up with a few suggestions for their team combination.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the England great wrote that opener Dawid Malan should be dropped from the playing eleven while Harry Brook should be playing each game. He also suggested that captain Jos Buttler should be batting at the top of the order and not in the middle order, writing:

“When I was asked who I’d drop from England’s team when I said Brook should have been in, I said Malan. I stand by that even more now. Buttler should be up the top, Malan shouldn’t be playing and Brook has to start EVERY SINGLE GAME!”

When I was asked who I’d drop from England’s team when I said Brook should have been in, I said Malan.
I stand by that even more now.
Buttler should be up the top, Malan shouldn’t be playing and Brook has to start EVERY SINGLE GAME!

— Kevin Pietersen? (@KP24) October 30, 2023

Malan is England’s leading run-getter in the ongoing tournament. The opener has scored 236 runs in six outings with the help of one century that came in England’s only win in the 2023 World Cup. Brook, on the other hand, was initially not a part of England’s preliminary World Cup squad but was later included in the team in place of Jason Roy.

The right-handed batsman played in England’s first four games of the competition but was dropped for the last two games after his failure against South Africa.

In the same post, one user asked Kevin Pietersen the reason behind England’s poor performance in the ongoing World Cup and the former cricketer replied: “Selected a poor team to start off with IMO! And why Buttler isn’t there to face most of the deliveries is something I’ll NEVER EVER understand.”

Selected a poor team to start off with IMO! And why Buttler isn’t there to face most of the deliveries is something I’ll NEVER EVER understand.

— Kevin Pietersen? (@KP24) October 30, 2023