I have much to achieve says Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Pietersen insists he wants to be part of the England team at least till the end of the 2015 World Cup which will take place in Australia and New Zealand. Pietersen, who was rested for the One Dayers when India toured England, is back in squad to face the same opponents in a 5-match ODI series and an one off T20 international to be played in India starting from October 14.
Pietersen, while mentioning that the the rest given to him helped him recharge his batteries, insisted that he had not decided on giving up ODI cricket in the foreseeable future.
There have been several talks that Pietersen might cut-short his ODI career, especially after he had to leave the English team mid-way during their faltering World Cup campaign to undergo a hernia operation.
Pietersen dismissed these notions and was unequivocal in saying "Yes I do", when asked if he wanted to continue playing ODI cricket.
"I don't know how many times I need to say it till you stop asking the questions. I want to continue playing until the 2015 World Cup, and then we'll reassess," he said.
"I have got things I want to achieve in the game. I'd love to get into double figures for the number of international one-day hundreds and it's just a case of fulfilling your talent. When you get to 35, 36, or 40, 45, you want to know you've done that.
"You don't want to look back and think, 'shit if only I'd played an extra 12 months'. You'd miss it. Anything can happen in your life, anything horrible can happen, you want to know that you've fulfilled your potential and your talent. I do believe I'm lucky enough to have been given quite a good talent and I want to try and fulfil that," he added.
Speaking about the break he got from the ODIs when India toured England, Pietersen said: "When offered the opportunity to have a break I happily accepted. Yes the wrist was sore but that didn't have much to do with it. It's a policy the ECB has now and I think it's a brilliant policy as you want to keep your senior players fresh.
"But it was amazing not to do any of the practices and warm-ups. That's the first break I've had without an injury for England. It was much appreciated," he said.
Pietersen said he had no qualms when the England management asked him to miss the NatWest Series, but made sure that he watched as little television as possible during that time.
"I understood the reasons. I didn't watch much; I wanted to take a complete break, and get that bug back for training. The hardest part of playing all three forms of the game is turning up on training day and doing warm-ups - I think it takes a couple of years off your career. To not have to turn up to training days was an absolute blessing. But you do miss the cricket, participating and competing - because we're all competitors."
As for keeping the TV turned off, he added: "It was deliberate. I didn't want to watch it - I wanted to get that little buzz, hunger back for actually turning up."
The break seems to have done Pietersen a lot of good and he now says he is ready to face the tough competition to cement a place in England's ODI side. "It's nice to be back doing some hard work. There's a lot of competition for places. The strength in depth of English cricket continues to grow."
Pietersen says no one should take their place for granted in any team. "What will be will be. No one's ever guaranteed their place - for their country, for their county, for their club side. There's a lot of different permutations and different things that can happen. It's just a case of enjoying every day, and also realising how fortunate we are."
Pietersen said India is the ideal place to play One Day cricket - a good learning experience the youngsters and also a good opportunity for the experiences ones to re-energise themselves.
"If there's any place you want to come and play one-day international cricket, it's here in India. For the youngsters it's brilliant, and for us old men it's great to be back - it re-energises you."
Pietersen was seen practising with strapping on his left wrist. But he did not appear to be in any kind of discomfort and was confident that it was a minor problem which he and England's medical staff could manage.
"I've got something in my wrist," he said. I had a cortisone injection a few days ago, and cortisone just before I left. It's just a case of getting through this tour and seeing where we are at the end."
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