Cricket:England batsman Kevin Pietersen has announced his shock retirement from one-day and Twenty20 internationals. The 31-year-old has played 127 ODIs and 36 T20Is and was a first-choice player in both formats but he will now continue his England career as a test specialist only following discussions with the England and Wales Cricket Board earlier this month.
Pietersen said: “After a great deal of thought and deliberation, I am today announcing my retirement from international one-day cricket. With the intensity of the international schedule and the increasing demands on my body, approaching 32, I think it is the right time to step aside and let the next generation of players come through.”
Pietersen, who was man of the tournament when England won the World Twenty20 in the West Indies in 2010, was willing to help defend the trophy in Sri Lanka this autumn but the ECB have decided that centrally-contracted players must be available for both limited-overs formats or neither.
“I am immensely proud of my achievements in the one-day game, and still wish to be considered for selection for England in Test cricket,” he added. “For the record, were the selection criteria not in place, I would have readily played for England in the upcoming ICC World Twenty20.”
Pietersen’s absence for the World Twenty20 is particularly relevant given he was the only England batsman to be selected in the recently concluded Indian Premier League. As a result of his decision, Pietersen’s current England contract will be downgraded for the rest of its duration and he will only be available in the future for a lower-tier deal.