“England did me a favour in sacking me”: When Kevin Pietersen remarked how his sacking from England national team came as a blessing in disguise for him

Kevin Pietersen remarked how the ECB did him a favour by axing him from the England Cricket team following the Ashes series loss.

Such was his calibre, that the former England captain and star batter Kevin Pietersen would have easily made it into any of the international teams during his playing days.

But, just like most great individuals who have graced this planet have hardly remained unscathed with criticisms and controversies in their careers, Pietersen’s too was marred with many of them.

It perhaps was a sum total of all the drama and fallouts he was part of and faced during his career, that eventually led the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) make up their mind that they would no longer require the services of their star right-handed batter.

Pietersen had played his last international match against Australia during his team’s forgetful tour Down Under in 2013/14, where they lost the Ashes series 0-5. He had ended his Test and international career with scores of 3 and 6 in first and second innings respectively of the final Test in Sydney.

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Kevin Pietersen remarked how the ECB did him a favour 

Three years post his last International outing for his country, Kevin Pietersen remarked how his axing from the team by the ECB ended up all good for him in hindsight, as he could then spend more time with his family, particularly with his kids.

“England did me a favour in sacking me in 2014 because it has helped me with my relationship with my kids no end. I didn’t want to be a lousy dad. For the birth of my son Dylan in 2010 I had to fly back from playing in the Caribbean, see him being born then get a helicopter to Gatwick the next day to play in a semi-final for England. I was absent,” Pietersen was quoted as saying by news.com.au.

“Jess (Pietersen’s wife) has been a rock to me but we’ve had tough times. People don’t understand the pressure that goes on between the four walls of home when it’s all going wrong, like it did for me on a daily basis for a year. We’ve put up with a hell of a lot while I was playing for England,” he further added.

The now 41-year-old had a stellar Cricketing career, and the numbers speak for themselves without a need for any amplification. In Tests, Pietersen scored a total of 8,181 runs across 104 matches, at an impressive average of 47.28. He had also smashed 23 centuries in the format, and is second only to Alastair Cook in the list of most Test centuries for England.

Across all the formats, he is still ranked third in the all-time highest run scorers list with 13,779 runs across 275 matches at an average of 44.30. He is placed only behind Joe Root (16,557 runs) and Sir Alastair Cook (15,737 runs).