Kevin Pietersen doesn't believe England can reach 2016 World T20 semis, tips Ashwin and Kohli to shine
Kevin Pietersen doesn’t believe England has the potential to reach the last four stage at the 2016 World T20, The Telegraph reports. The 35-year-old tipped hosts India, Australia, South Africa and West Indies to reach the semis while he believes Ravichandran Ashwin and Virat Kohli will finish up as the tournament’s leading wicket taker and run getter respectively.
Pietersen, who has not featured for the English national side since the Ashes Test back in early 2014 due to ongoing off-field issues with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) after the infamous texting scandal involving former skipper and present ECB Director of Cricket Andrew Strauss, was overlooked for the 10-team event to be held in India despite being in good touch in domestic T20 tournaments such as the Big Bash League (BBL).
However, Pietersen himself expressed more shock at the omission of all-rounder Luke Wright stating that the national selectors had erred in their squad selection.
“I don’t know why they (England national selectors) have not selected Luke (Wright) and myself,” Pietersen said. “More Luke because I don't know what he has done. He has had a wonderful winter. Poor selection there but I am not a selector.”
Eoin Morgan is England’s game changer
Contrary to his former teammate Andrew Flintoff’s view that England has the potential to lift the coveted trophy, Pietersen doesn’t see them making it even as far as the semi-final stage instead picking out hosts India, Australia, South Africa and rather surprisingly, West Indies, as the teams who will battle it out in the semi-final stage. He added however that England’s fortunes will be dependent largely on skipper Eoin Morgan whom he feels will be the team’s game-changer at the tournament.
"I think England’s game changer at the World Cup has to be Eoin Morgan," Pietersen said. "He is the captain, has played a lot of IPL cricket, is used to the conditions and with his experience batting at number four he has got to be the game changer."
With chances of an England comeback pretty rare, there have been rumours that Pietersen might turn out for his country by birth, South Africa, in the future. When the question was put to the man himself, Pietersen said that though he had indeed thought about such a scenario, no concrete development have taken place yet.
“Of course, I have thought about it. Lots of people talk about me playing for South Africa but at the moment, I am very happy doing what I am doing,” he said.