Kevin Pietersen speaks against Ben Stokes leading England in Joe Root’s absence vs West Indies

Kevin Pietersen speaks against Ben Stokes: The former cricketer has spoken against the current all-rounder transforming into a captain.

While England look set to resume international cricket on the back of hosting West Indies for three Tests starting from July 8, their Test captain Joe Root is almost certain to miss the first Test (even the subsequent ones).

With Root and his wife expecting their second child in the first week of July, it would be highly unlikely for the 29-year old to be with his wife and then be at the stadium on July 8.

With the series set to be played in a bio-secure environment, it is being reported that the English skipper might have to self quarantine for a week before joining the team.

While Root had nominated deputy Ben Stokes to lead England in his absence, former England batsman Kevin Pietersen has spoken against the opinion stating that the star all-rounder might “struggle” with the extra added pressure.

“I’m not so sure. The entertainers and the guys that have to carry that mantle in the team sometimes aren’t the best captains, and sometimes struggle with the extra added pressure,” Pietersen was quoted as saying by talkSPORT.

Kevin Pietersen speaks against Ben Stokes

Pietersen, who scored 628 runs in 15 matches across formats at an average of 52.33 including three centuries and two half-centuries as England captain more than a decade ago, highlighted how captains get looked in a different perspective and how it can be a “difficult place” to be.

Throw throw throw your ball gently against your house…if ya smash a window don’t forget to run away from your wife and get used to eating and sleeping outside pic.twitter.com/YYtfI0nqWt

— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) May 21, 2020

“You get looked at completely differently: responsibilities change, communication changes, the way in which you carry yourself in the dressing room changes. It’s a difficult place to be. I struggled with it: I absolutely hated it, and I was rubbish,” Pietersen said.

Laying emphasis on not wanting to change Stokes by any bit, Pietersen himself nominated wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler to lead England in Root’s absence. Buttler, 29, was a part of the Test team during the tour of South Africa but has scored 405 runs in 10 Tests at an average of 21.31 in the last 12 months.

“It’s a completely different story. So do I think I want to see Ben Stokes change from who he is and the current player he is? Probably not. Jos Buttler would be my guy,” Pietersen concluded.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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