OTD| Former England batter Kevin Pietersen was born in 1980

Kevin Pietersen, the former England great, is celebrating his 44th Birthday. The star cricketer, born on the 27th of June 1980, was known for his powerful hitting and unorthodox game style. In his 10-year-long career, Pietersen played 104 Test matches, scoring 8181 runs, 136 ODI matches, scoring 4440 runs, and 37 T20I matches, scoring 1176 runs. 

KP, born in South Africa, made his first-class debut in his country at age 17 and was suggested by Nasser Hussain to play for an English County team as their overseas player. Despite his performances for his team in South Africa, he was dropped from the side and claimed that it was because of the country’s racial quota system. 

In 2000, he moved to England and signed a three-year contract with the Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. After a qualifying period of four years playing at the English county level, he was called up for his international debut against Zimbabwe in 2004.

The star cricketer has had many great performances for his national side, but his best came in the T20 World Cup 2010. Pietersen scored 248 runs at an average of 62.00 and a strike rate of 137.77 and was awarded the Player of the Tournament for his consistent performances in the season. Thanks to Pietersen for his consistency in the tournament, England was able to lift their first-ever ICC trophy. 

Pietersen also played in the Indian Premier League, representing a few teams in his stint in the marquee tournament. In the 36 matches he played in the tournament, he scored 1001 runs, with 103 not out being his highest. His best performance in the IPL came in 2012 when he played for the Delhi Daredevils. He scored 305 runs in the season with a strike rate of 147.