Time to drop Kevin Pieterson from England Team?

With the Ashes lost and that too in such an embarrassing manner,and two matches yet to be completed, the English greats have been calling for some heads to be chopped. One major name being called by a former legend Geoffrey Boycott is that of Kevin Pietersen. Boycott places the blame for Pietersen’s failures on the English team management, for not helping out Pietersen curb his flamboyant game. Loss of form is one thing, but repeatedly not learning from mistakes and continuous poor shot selection is certainly not expected from England’s best batsman. This is also having a negative effect on the younger English players as they see Kevin as their role model.

Boycott has been heavy on criticism. With tags of being ‘selfish’ and giving his wicket way too cheaply, Boycott feels Pietersen should be dropped in order to bring his feet back to the ground. He told the Daily Telegraph: "How do you tell inexperienced players such as Carberry and Root that you have to sell your wicket dearly and work through difficult periods in a match, but then Pietersen plays like he does? He has given his wicket away four times out of six. Each time they set a trap for him and he falls for it. He is a mug and the Aussies are laughing at him. Senior players should always give a lead to the juniors, but with Pietersen it is all about self. He is going to do whatever he wants, play the way he feels irrespective of the state of the match or what is best for England. When the best player in the team makes stupid mistakes just think what that does to the morale of the rest of the players. KP is in his own world."

KP, ironically has never been in form throughout a series.Even during the last ashes in Australia, despite him being among the top run scorers, it was mainly because of a double hundred which he had scored. Besides that, his bat hardly did any talking. KP is a match winner. He is bound to win you one game on his own. But never has he been consistent with his performance. That one blinder of a knock has always safeguarded him and overshadowed his poor performances.
So far in this series, Pietersen has registered just one half-century and has been accused of recklessness after playing shots that contributed to his dismissal in five of his six innings.

However, with Trott taking a break from cricket and Prior injured, the England batting is very weak. At this point of time, the experience of Pietersen is vital in restoring some pride for the Englishmen. Pietersen has insisted he was "as good as gold" in terms of his enthusiasm and commitment to international cricket and reiterated his desire to continue.

While he admitted he had, to date, endured a disappointing Ashes series, he claimed he was batting "as well as ever" and insisted he would continue to bat in the positive manner which has characterized his career.

SO, this might not be the right time to drop KP, but the team management must sit down with him and explain his importance to the team. The talent is still there, so is the age. All KP needs to do is sort out his head, stay away from off field controversy and aim to spend maximum time at the crease