Kevin Pietersen has surprisingly been handed a coaching role with the England white-ball teams in the build-up to next year’s Cricket World Cup.
Pietersen – one of England’s greatest white-ball cricketers of all time but who has had a strained relationship with the English cricket establishment ever since a controversial playing career – will join up with Brendon McCullum’s teams as a specialist mentor for the upcoming ODI and T20I series against Sri Lanka later this month.
The outspoken 46-year-old, who scored 4440 runs in 136 ODIs at an average of 40.73 and blasted 1176 runs with a strike rate of more than 140 in 37 T20 internationals, joins a white-ball coaching set-up that also includes Marcus Trescothick, Tim Southee, Jeetan Patel and Sarah Taylor.
After the upcoming Sri Lanka games, Pietersen will be involved in this winter’s white-ball tours to Australia and South Africa, as well as series against Pakistan and New Zealand next summer before the autumn’s World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Pietersen was born in South Africa and described the opportunity to help England win a major trophy there as a “profound honour”.
“I am immensely proud to have been asked to help this team on their journey to win a World Cup in South Africa,” Pietersen said in a statement. “Putting on the England uniform again for the first time since 2014 is a profound honour and a deeply special moment.
“We have an incredibly talented white-ball squad, and I am excited to get in the trenches and work relentlessly hard with these players to maximise their potential. To be a part of Brendon’s think tank over the next 12 months is a fantastic opportunity, and I cannot wait to get started.”
As Pietersen alludes to, his final appearances as an England player came on the disastrous 2013-14 Ashes tour to Australia, where he averaged only 29 and passed fifty only twice in ten innings but was still his side’s top scorer with 294 runs.
Andy Flower was dismissed as coach following the 5-0 whitewash and Pietersen wasn’t selected for the tour of the Caribbean that followed, ending his Test career with 8,181 runs across 104 matches.
He worked as a mentor for Delhi Capitals during the 2025 Indian Premier League and the ECB’s statement when announcing his appointment specified the fact he grew up in South Africa as a key advantage to be tapped into ahead of a World Cup in the Rainbow Nation.
And England head coach McCullum expressed his excitement at the appointment, saying: “I’ve got immense respect for KP and what he’s achieved in the game. He’s had an amazing impact on English cricket, so for someone with his experience, knowledge and stature to want to play a role with this team is a fantastic result.
“I’m particularly excited for our batters to get the opportunity to work with him. KP has a unique understanding of what it takes to perform at the highest level, which will be hugely valuable to our players. We’ve always respected each other and had a strong appreciation for what the other brings to the game, so I’m really looking forward to working together.”
