London, Oct 17 (IANS) Exiled England batsman Kevin Pietersen said he is open to a coaching role with his national cricket side, but added that some players in the squad are worried about seeking his advice.
Pietersen, who was sacked in February 2014, was told this year by director of cricket Andrew Strauss that he would not play for England in the “short term”. However, Strauss offered him a role as an advisor on a board to improve the one-day side, which he turned down, BBC reported on Friday.
When asked if he would now like to help, the 35-year-old said, “Of course I would. I haven’t got a clue if I will be asked but I don’t worry about it.”
Pietersen revealed he had been offered a coaching role by England but that the “timing was not right” for him to take up such a position while still playing.
The South Africa-born right-hander last played for England in the final Test of a 0-5 Ashes series defeat in Australia in January 2014 before he was sacked a month later.
He believes some players do not want to contact him as it would be “frowned upon”.
“I think that it is a sad, sad state that the messages that I receive from some of the current players are that it is difficult for them to ask me questions and advice because they fear they might get into trouble for getting in touch with me,” the former captain said.
“I know for a fact that there was a little bit of a worry that getting advice from me would be frowned upon. It’s a sad position that with what I have achieved in the game with England that it seems to be sort of a no-go,” Pietersen, who scored 8,181 runs in 104 Tests and 4,470 runs in 136 One-Day Internationals (ODIs), added.
Pietersen reduced his Indian Premier League (IPL) commitments this year and played for English County side Surrey after incoming England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Colin Graves suggested an international return might be possible if he were to score runs in domestic cricket.
But, despite a career-best 355 not out for Surrey, Pietersen was told in May that he would not be considered for the Ashes and said his treatment had been “incredibly deceitful”.
England won the Ashes and are currently playing a Test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.
Asked if he had hopes of an England recall, he said, “It’s something that has long gone from me now. I live every day trying to be better at stuff I do. If it happens it happens, if it doesn’t, so what?”
