England’s Kevin Pietersen retires from international cricket

Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen has called time on his international career after Pakistan Super League. Pietersen decided to quit the game with immediate effect after he will not be traveling to Pakistan with Quetta Gladiators for the PSL playoffs that will be played in Lahore.

Pietersen has been freelancer of sorts playing in various leagues around the world such as Big Bash League and Pakistan Super League. The 37-year old was dropped from the England side after the visitors suffered a humiliating 5-0 whitewash at the hands of Australia in Australia.

Many Cricket Pundits felt that Pietersen was made the scapegoat for all underlying problems faced by England team during that period. The legendary batsman still played County cricket in order to make a comeback into England side. The right-handed batsman was known for his scintillating performance with the bat and was at the center of media attention during his playing days for England team.

In Test cricket, Kevin Pietersen played 104 games and scored 8,181 runs with 23 centuries to his name. He also scored 4,440 runs in one-day internationals for England and scored nine centuries at an average of 40.73.  Kevin Pietersen was instrumental in helping England lift their maiden T20 Title in the 2010 T20 World Cup played in the West Indies. He was named the man of the tournament in the competition and scored 248 runs in 6 matches at a strike rate of 137.77.

Kevin Pietersen was born in South Africa but decided to play for England with the limited opportunities available due to racial quota system prevalent at that time. He played his last match against Australia in 2013-14 Ashes held in Australia.

He has played for teams around the world such as Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rising Pune Supergiants, Melbourne Stars, Quetta Gladiators, and Hampshire.