Kevin Pietersen turn down Pakistan role because of England

Kevin Pietersen says his loyalty to England led him to reject an approach to become Pakistan’s batting consultant.

Pakistan’s four-Test series against England gets under way at Lord’s on Thursday, with the hosts looking to gain revenge for a 2-0 defeat in the United Arab Emirates late last year.

Pietersen, frozen out of the England set-up following the 5-0 Ashes whitewash in 2013-14, still has an affinity for his adopted country and therefore felt he could not help the tourists on this occaison.

“I wish Pakistan luck and I have a big respect for their game after playing in the PSL [Pakistan Super League], so much so that I was honoured when they approached me to help them out as a batting consultant on this tour,” Pietersen said in his column for the Telegraph.

“But my schedule is too busy at the moment and my loyalty to England that means at this stage I would not want to work against them. This series is there for England to win.

“They [Pakistan] lack experience at the top of the order and every time we played Pakistan they hated facing the Duke ball.

“In my time only Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan did well against us and they are among the very best of all time.

“It is going to be a great series but I don’t believe Pakistan can beat England. Their batting is not strong enough and England have a bowling attack that in home conditions can beat the best in the world.”