Kevin Pietersen: What will international cricket be without him?

The Australian summer had been hot for the English cricket team. It was made thermogenic by Mitchell Johnson’s terrifying pace. Jonathan Trott decided not to proceed further after the humiliation at Brisbane citing reasons of a depressive sickness, while Graeme Swann was to quit from all forms of the game midway through the series and the English team melted like an ice sculpture in the desert.

The Ashes was lost 5-0 and the tour ended in the most shameful manner. A revamp plan was on the cards from the English cricket officials but how can a revamp plan proceed without your most prolific performer?

I was vexatious in the morning as I came to know that, one of world cricket’s most dazzling willow-wielder, Kevin Pietersen has not been considered for the upcoming Caribbean tour and World Twenty20 in Bangladesh. In fact, the English cricket officials are disinterested to continue with KP. A batsman whose career spanned 104 Tests and more than 150 limited-overs appearances since he made his debut in 2005 will not be a part of England’s future rebuilding plan.

There’s a school of thought that KP’s exclusion is more of non-cricketing reasons. Whispers and rumours say that KP was quite unmanageable during the Australian tour. This has not been the first time that KP has been hard to handle, but in the past his egoistic personality had gifted world cricket enough controversies which always haunted his illustrious batting career.

Kevin Pietersen is a modern day great. Over the years, very few batsmen in world cricket had been able to stamp their authority at the batting crease with a graceful audacity like KP. Since KP made his debut, he had been doing this for England with an astonishing regularity.

Whenever he was needed to deliver the goods, KP would rise to the occasion and dent the opposition’s psyche by dishing out incredible knocks. His fearsome pulls, slog sweeps, switch hits and skating down the wicket to execute the falcon shot have been a matter of joy for the cricket lovers. He had been the centerpiece of England’s ascendancy to the top over the years.

Off the field, KP continued to give birth to controversies. His sponsorship deals with a jewellery company, his blonde hair and his decision to contribute more for IPL than England national team received enough harsh response more often, but it had been his egoistic nature which earned him severe and dismissive criticisms. His rift with the former English cricket team coach Peter Moores cost him his captaincy while for the message texting saga cost him his place in the team and central contracts though before the India tour he was reintegrated in the side again.

We must not forget that Kevin Pietersen is a maverick. Mavericks are flawed genius. They are the eager beavers. They are the ones who most of the times are driven by their passionate heart and are thus dissidents, adventurers, introverted, egoistic and rebels – ask questions, think independently and know how to fight the lizard brain, bend the rules and take risks. They are crazy the crazy diamonds. In modern day cricket, Kevin Pietersen symbolizes that crazy diamond.

Such crazy diamonds are an asset to any side as they are the goose which hatches the golden eggs. Such crazy diamonds must be handled with enough patience and smartness. Great captains like Imran Khan and Mike Brearley had shown how to deal with crazy diamonds. Mike Brearley’s authority over a wayward Ian Botham and Imran Khan’s total command over a perennially factitious team like Pakistan during the 80s remains a lesson for each and every captains of world cricket.

Paul Downton, the new managing director of England Cricket Board (ECB) stated that, “Clearly this was a tough decision because Kevin has been such an outstanding player for England as the fact that he is the country’s leading run scorer in international cricket demonstrates.”

He then added, “However, everyone was aware that there was a need to begin the long term planning after the Australia tour. Therefore, we have decided the time is right to look to the future and start to rebuild not only the team but also team ethic and philosophy.”

Surely, you should decide that “the time is right to look to the future and start to rebuild not only the team but also team ethic and philosophy.”

But how can you rebuild a team without that goose which hatches the golden eggs? How can you build a team without a maverick? Kevin Pietersen’s age is 33 at present and I believe that he still has that fire in his belly to reap rich harvests for English cricket for three or four more years. This maverick should have been handled smartly for three or four more years.

It’s still not clear why KP has been excluded and it’s pretty hard to rely on whispers and rumours as they are very toxic. The best maverick batsman of modern day cricket has been axed not for his batting abilities, but for non-cricketing reasons which definitely demands an explanation. But sadly, it seems now that, KP’s career is coming to an end or I guess, I should say that, KP’s career has come to a disgraceful end. What will international cricket be without this crazy diamond? It has already lost its enough luminosity.

Note: This article has been published in Sportskeeda on 5/04/2014  Kevin Pietersen: What will international cricket be without him?

Thank You
Faisal Caesar