Kevin Pietersen is expected to quit Surrey and head back to the Indian Premier League following what he described as “deceitful” behaviour by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
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Pietersen was told by new England cricket director Andrew Strauss that he would not be selected for the upcoming Test series’ against New Zealand and Australia due to a breakdown of trust.
The 34-year-old, who notched up a career-best unbeaten 355 for Surrey on Tuesday, was typically forthright when giving his views on the situation in a column for The Telegraph.
“I am absolutely devastated that it looks like my hopes of an England recall have been brought to a close, especially given everything that has been said and asked of me,” Pietersen wrote.
“I had a meeting with Andrew Strauss and Tom Harrison at a hotel in London on Monday night. I expressed my fear to Tom last week when he asked for the meeting that I did not want to sit in a room and be told that I was not going to be picked for England again.
“I have never hidden my determination to once again represent England and having played one of the best innings of my career earlier in the day, I must admit I was riding the crest of a wave.
“They have used the word trust to justify not selecting me, well, trust is a two-way thing. I couldn’t believe just half an hour after I had my meeting, the result of it was on the internet and on the BBC airwaves. Now I certainly didn’t tell anybody, so who did? They say they don’t trust me but how can anybody trust them?”
Pietersen will now fly to India to link up with Sunrisers Hyderabad.
“I just find it incredibly deceitful what has happened to me and am frankly finding it difficult to understand right now. I have done everything I have been asked. I keep asking myself, what more could I do?,” Pietersen said.
“Under the agreement of releasing me from my IPL contract, Sunrisers Hyderabad have the right to recall me for the final stages of the tournament, so on Friday – at their request – I’ll be travelling out to India.
“It’ll give me a good opportunity to cool down and assess what I’m going to do next. I’m just sorry it won’t be putting on an England shirt.”
Pietersen was sacked by England in February 2014 following the side’s 5-0 Ashes defeat in Australia after being told he was a disruptive presence in the squad.
Strauss and Pietersen have had their personal differences, and the former was forced to apologise after making an offensive remark about his former teammate during a TV broadcast.
The bad blood between the pair stems back to 2012 when Pietersen was found to be sending text messages about Strauss to the South African cricket team.
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