Kevin Pietersen, the former England player-turned-cricket pundit, continued his disdain for the player rotation policy implemented by the England team management. He was of opinion that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) shouldn’t be implementing the player rotation policy on important tours like India.
Kevin Pietersen. Image-Twitter.
The ECB’s policy of resting players and rotating them was cited as one of the prime reasons behind the England national cricket team’s Test series loss by 1-3, as the likes of Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali played one solitary Test match before going back to England and other changes were made.
Players Should Have A Greater Say In Deciding Whether To Rest Or Play: Kevin Pietersen
Speaking on The Cricket Show on Sky Sports, Pietersen maintained that the rotation policy can be executed in other international series during the season which is not as massive as a tour of India.
“I’ve been fairly vocal about this rest and rotation policy. It’s not to say the result [in India] would have been different at all but, be that as it may, 100 percent there needed to be a two-way discussion around the fact. Anybody who has played for England will agree; you want to be playing against India in India. You want to play against them in England. You want to play in the Ashes. In a World Cup,” Pietersen said.
England Cricket Team [Image-Getty]“Most of these guys are in a position now where they can dictate their schedule. Player power is real. With that now being a thing, these guys should look at it like, ‘what is going to determine my career?” Kevin Pietersen said.
I Have Got No Interest In Seeing The England Vs New Zealand Series At Home: Kevin Pietersen
The former England captain also stated that in these unprecedented times of COVID-19, international fixtures need to be carefully evaluated and planned based on their importance to the context and then the England team needs to then put the rotational policy in place.
England Cricket Team [Image-Getty]
“Series need to be decided on as to the level of importance of the fixtures. New Zealand, in May, in England, I’m sorry – I know people will hate me for saying it – but I’ve got no interest. Zero. However, do I want to play against India in England later in the summer? If you are going to have to start resting and rotating, let them have holidays in series that are not going to define their careers,” the 40-year-old added.
Players like Jonny Bairstow had to miss the first two Tests of the India series because he was rested as per rotational policy by the ECB given that he had played in the Sri Lanka Test series prior to the India tour.
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