Kevin Pietersen ‘interested’ to become India’s batting coach. (Photo Source: Philip Brown/Popperfoto/Popperfoto via Getty Images)
Former England batter Kevin Pietersen has expressed interest in becoming the batting coach of the Indian senior men’s team while responding to speculation on social media.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is looking to bolster the Gautam Gambhir-led coaching staff by appointing a batting coach as per recent reports and Pietersen may be one of the earliest candidates to emerge. The stalwart has been working actively as a commentator after calling time on his illustrious career in 2018.
“Interested,” Pietersen wrote in response to a post on X discussing India’s reported search for a batting coach.
During the review meeting after India’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour defeat, the entire coaching staff came under the scanner, prompting the BCCI to ponder over the idea of hiring a dedicated batting coach. When Gambhir took over as head coach after Rahul Dravid’s tenure, he was given the freedom to select his coaching team, which currently includes Morne Morkel as the bowling coach, and Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate as assistant coaches. Meanwhile, T Dilip has continued as the fielding coach from the Rahul Dravid era.
Also Read: Reports: BCCI looking to add new batting coach to Gautam Gambhir’s staff
Pietersen is regarded as one of England’s greatest batters of all time. He played 104 Test, 136 ODIs, and 37 T20Is during his career. The flamboyant batter scored 8181, 4440, and 1176 runs across the three formats. Pietersen averaged 43.93 in India in Test cricket, scoring 703 runs, including two centuries. He played a key role in England’s historic 2-1 series win against MS Dhoni’s men on Indian soil.
Incidentally, India’s upcoming assignment is a limited-overs series against England at home. The Men in Blue play five T20Is and three ODIs against the Three Lions. The first T20I is set to be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on January 22. However, teams will have their eyes on the all-important Champions Trophy, which begins on February 19.