Love Watching Kevin Pietersen Bat, But As A Person I Didn’t Respect Him - James Taylor

Former England batsman, James Taylor opens up on being ‘abused’ and ‘bullied’ by former superstar players, Kevin Pietersen. It is well-documented that Pietersen didn’t like James Taylor ven before the youngster made his Test debut against South Africa in 2012 – Taylor says that the former captain ridiculed him for his diminutive physique. He believes that Pietersen wanted other players in the team over the Nottingham batsman.

James Taylor averaged 26 in 7 Tests and 42.23 in 27 ODI for England. He notched up 7 fifties and a century in 27 ODIs before retiring at the age of 26 owing to a serious heart condition – the right-hander was diagnosed with  ARVC (Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy) forcing him to retire in 2016.

“I will never use it as an excuse, but people say I didn’t play more then initially because people thought I was too small. KP obviously jumped on that bandwagon and said stuff about me because he wanted other people in the team other than me. I didn’t know KP. For some reason we never got on, not that I didn’t like him initially because I didn’t know him, he just took it on himself not to be a decent bloke to me or with me around for some reason,” James Taylor said on the Giving the Game Away Podcast.

As a cricketer, Pietersen is a legend, but don’t respect him as a person: James Taylor

Pietersen in his autobiography wrote that Taylor should have been a jockey like his father and ‘didn’t think he was up’ for international cricket. The 31-year-old reveals that he was abused and felt ‘bullied’ by the dynamic batsman but chose to ignore him. James Taylor says that while he loved watching Pietersen bat and considers him a legend on the field, however, he doesn’t respect the Ashes hero off the field.

“I was 21, making my debut, and there was so much noise. KP had obviously said stuff about me and abused me but when I heard about it… Usually, when somebody’s abusing you, or you’re being bullied at school, your heart would sink because someone’s being nasty to you, and nobody likes that.

“But honestly, I didn’t care. Not in an arrogant way, but I’m really proud of myself. As a cricketer – legend, brilliant, love watching him. But as a person at the time and what I saw I didn’t respect him that much so it didn’t hurt me as much,” added James Taylor.

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