From being a gentle South African offie to an English batting legend was indeed a mean journey, literally. Getting sacked, a national scapegoat, bullying mascot - you name every grey aspect and this man has seen it all and even few more. That 'Egoistic Swagger' is what defines KP, he is the kind of a kid in school whom everyone hates but no one dares to ignore, either on the 22 yards or in a pub or within the closed confines of a board meeting this is how the KP machine works, every single time. The Charisma he carries cannot be related to any other England Cap in the last two decades, not even a close second and that is the exact uncertainty for England, they've never seen anything like it, hence just can't draw a line, which penultimately gets to their nerves whenever something goes berserk.
This sustained inability of the English management to comprehend these unorthodoxies of a player is what has cost KP his international career and for England a legend. But playing the blame game only on the management is sheer stupidity, the timing of things and public sentiment also goes a long way in the KP debacle. The player said a few words, coach a few, one led to another and a colossal failure of characters is what ensured in 08’, which was the cornerstone for what is to come. KP and Strauss were never the best of friends, although Strauss being the one who coined in the idea of KP opening in ODIs after an extended lean run. But their rapport dwindled down gradually over the years, so much so that with Strauss finally citing “We just cannot trust you”. More so with Alastair Cook taking over captaincy in 12’, it became too much for KP to handle the bullying blitzkrieg on & off the field and in due course lead to his sacking in early 14’ after the Ashes fiasco.
Evolution defines the future of everything, and ECB stalled to evolve in the 90’s, sure T20 is their brainchild but creating something new and adapting to that enforced change is what defines a proper evolution, a perfect example is the mighty Australians. Aussies being a champion side is always a given at any point in the foregone century and their triumph dwarfs the innovative back end of their cricketing structure. Each player comes through the ranks starting from age say 8 or 9 and is earmarked for being a specialist. The equally proficient board reconciles the chaos and the way players like David Warner and Steven Smith panned out is just an ample proof of their adaptation to the 21st century cricket – Exquisite and Eccentric.
ECB prioritizes Test cricket above everything, in doing so they lack the urge to innovate in limited overs cricket. Their ideologies are so timeworn and one look at their ODI batting unit is all it takes - Ian Bell, Gary Balance, Joe Root & James Taylor - all have an average strike rate of around 75, sure these four are accomplished Test players, but a modern ODI side doesn’t need more than one in this kind of mould, theoretically include Cook and Trott and we have as high as 6 parallel players. England needs to accept the fact that 327/9 is always better than 264/2 in 50 overs.
By sacking KP England’s prophecy is obvious and it clearly states they don’t indulge into unorthodoxies. Alex Hales, Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler could well be the last contrasting trio to come out unscathed into the national scene. With Strauss in command and everything pointing towards a Joe Root entangled future, this England side would well become a great Test side and a mediocre at best limited overs side. But in the storm of things and deeds England have missed out profoundly on a gem or to put it better - A Flawed Genius in Kevin Pietersen.
Evolution defines the future of everything, and ECB stalled to evolve in the 90’s, sure T20 is their brainchild but creating something new and adapting to that enforced change is what defines a proper evolution, a perfect example is the mighty Australians. Aussies being a champion side is always a given at any point in the foregone century and their triumph dwarfs the innovative back end of their cricketing structure. Each player comes through the ranks starting from age say 8 or 9 and is earmarked for being a specialist. The equally proficient board reconciles the chaos and the way players like David Warner and Steven Smith panned out is just an ample proof of their adaptation to the 21st century cricket – Exquisite and Eccentric.
ECB prioritizes Test cricket above everything, in doing so they lack the urge to innovate in limited overs cricket. Their ideologies are so timeworn and one look at their ODI batting unit is all it takes - Ian Bell, Gary Balance, Joe Root & James Taylor - all have an average strike rate of around 75, sure these four are accomplished Test players, but a modern ODI side doesn’t need more than one in this kind of mould, theoretically include Cook and Trott and we have as high as 6 parallel players. England needs to accept the fact that 327/9 is always better than 264/2 in 50 overs.
By sacking KP England’s prophecy is obvious and it clearly states they don’t indulge into unorthodoxies. Alex Hales, Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler could well be the last contrasting trio to come out unscathed into the national scene. With Strauss in command and everything pointing towards a Joe Root entangled future, this England side would well become a great Test side and a mediocre at best limited overs side. But in the storm of things and deeds England have missed out profoundly on a gem or to put it better - A Flawed Genius in Kevin Pietersen.
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