England have appointed former Ashes-winning batter Kevin Pietersen, 46, as a specialist mentor in their white-ball coaching team ahead of the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup. Pietersen will start with the upcoming three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka, which begins on 15 September in Southampton, and will join winter tours to Australia and South Africa before rejoining the home series against Pakistan and New Zealand next summer. He will also be part of the setup for the 50-over World Cup to be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia in the autumn. White-ball head coach Brendon McCullum praised Pietersen’s experience and impact on English cricket. Pietersen scored almost 4,500 ODI runs at an average of 41.32, a figure bettered only by Joe Root, and holds the highest T20 average of any England batter with more than 1,000 runs. The appointment follows Pietersen’s post-retirement work as a commentator, content creator and mentor with the IPL’s Delhi Capitals. Pietersen’s England career included a 2012 dressing-room controversy that led to him being dropped for sending provocative text messages, for which he apologised to then captain Andrew Strauss and later rejoined after a reintegration period.
