Kevin Pietersen: Cook can break Tendulkar’s record

Kevin Pietersen, in a recent interview with Darren Gough on Talksport, has claimed that Alastair Cook has the ability to surpass Sachin Tendulkar‘s world-record number of Test runs.

Tendulkar has scored 15837 Test runs, and he is not finished yet. Cook is around 8000 runs behind. Although one thing to notice here is that Cook has matched Tendulkar who at, 28, had approximately the same runs as Cook has now, which strengthens Pietersen’s belief that the record is within Cook’s reach.

Pietersen is expected to make his England return on Thursday in the second T20I against New Zealand, said to Gough: “His (Cook’s) first series was against India away and we beat India, he’s done exceptionally well, his cricket just keeps getting better and better.

“For me he’s the right man to lead England, he’s doing a great job for us and he will continue to get better and better and break every record anyone’s ever set, certainly in the English game. He’s on target to go for Tendulkar’s numbers, if you look at the numbers and look at his age.”

Gough drew Peitersen’s attention to the fact that the relationship with the English media specifically is unhealthy referring to Wisden’s assessment of Pietersen as “arrogant, self-pitying and isolated.

Pietersen responded in his flamboyant style: “I’ve been burnt too many times and it’s just a case of me now concentrating on my cricket and playing my cricket as best I can because that whole situation hurt my family too much. I get it all day every day.

“Somebody asked me yesterday, ‘Can you take some constructive criticism?’ I said, ‘Excuse me? You’re talking to somebody who has it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.’ So it doesn’t affect me, it’s water off a duck’s back now. I have absolutely no interest in it but it hurt my family and my best mates.

“You go through rocky patches in every walk of life – business, marriage, as a kid, through your teenage years. In a dressing room not everyone’s going to get on and I know you had altercations in your dressing room.

“I know some other great players who I speak to in other countries when I hear the things that go on in other dressing rooms now and it happens, it’s going to happen. Unfortunately it was quite a famous fall out because of what happened but, no, everything’s absolutely fantastic, we showed that in India the way we got on and played well and beat India in India.

“I just want to get the best out of my talent. I just live for each day, I play each day. I go out and try new things. I’ve got that personality, that impatient personality, that wants to try things, wants to do things, wants to achieve things and I’ll never stop trying.”

Pietersen also has plans to move into the fashion industry once his playing days are over. “These last three months that I’ve been injured I’ve had quite a bit of time on my hands to sort the business side of life out,” he revealed. “I am heavily involved in a clothing company and a footwear company in India. I’ve got some different stuff, other things on the horizon that I’m negotiating, talking about and signing off.”