London - Kevin Pietersen will have to wait to complete his reintegration into England’s limited-overs set-up after he was left out of the 13-man squad for the Twenty20 series against India.
With England keen to rotate their top players, Pietersen - who has often complained about a crowded international calendar - will instead make his one-day return in the 50-over series in India in January.
The clash at Rajkot on January 11 will be his first one-day international since his match-winning 130 against Pakistan in Dubai on February 21 and team director Andy Flower said: ‘We intend for him to play a lot of cricket for England. Therefore, we will make decisions based on maximising his impact.’
Missing from both series will be off-spinner Graeme Swann, while Steven Finn will sit out the Twenty20 campaign before returning for the five-match ODI trip in the new year. The rotation policy means Finn will operate with different new-ball partners as England try to improve on the 5-0 whitewash in India in October 2011. Stuart Broad misses the first three matches and Jimmy Anderson the final two. Meanwhile, England have called up Kent off-spinner James Tredwell as cover for Swann or Monty Panesar ahead of Wednesday’s third Test in Kolkata.
Another turning pitch is expected at Eden Gardens, where reports claim veteran groundsman Prabir Mukherjee has been replaced by a curator more willing to provide Indian captain MS Dhoni with the spinning track he craves.
Daily Mail