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KP wants England return and lauds the BBL

Kevin Pietersen has hailed the success of the BBL and says he wants to play for England at the upcoming T20 World Cup in India.

Kevin Pietersen.
BBL star Kevin Pietersen has called on England to select him for the Twenty20 World Cup in India. (AAP)

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Source: AAP


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Kevin Pietersen has called on England to end his international wilderness and select him for the Twenty20 World Cup following an outstanding BBL campaign for the Melbourne Stars.

Pietersen scored 323 runs in nine innings to help the Stars to the final and despite hitting a classy 74 in the decider it wasn't enough to see off an Usman Khawaja-inspired Sydney Thunder.

Despite the disappointment of falling short in the final Pietersen said the BBL 05 was a hugely positive experience.

He also claimed to be in the best form of his career and would relish the chance to work under England's Australian coach Trevor Bayliss at the T20 World Cup in India in March.

"From what I hear, Trevor Bayliss is a great coach and the environment within the team, and the way they approach one-day cricket, is absolutely spot on," Pietersen said in his column in the UK's Daily Telegraph.

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"If they pick me I will do my job: score runs and help the youngsters. I have been working with the young guys at the Melbourne Stars and I would love to do the same with our boys.

"I know I am good enough to play but I have no clue if they will pick me. If they do fantastic, if they do not then I will just carry on as normal and support the guys."

Pietersen has not played for England since the fifth Test of the disastrous Ashes tour of Australia in January 2014 after falling out with skipper Alastair Cook.

Last year he was told there was no way back to the Test side by England's director of cricket Andrew Strauss who he infamously fell out during a series with South Africa in 2012 when he sent disparaging text messages about the then skipper to Proteas players.

He was however, asked to work in an advisory role of the Twenty20 team by Strauss, an offer he rejected.

Another former England captain Michael Vaughan has led the calls for the 35-year-old to be recalled.

Pietersen confirmed he won't play in the English domestic T20 competition as it was vastly inferior to the BBL.

"Unfortunately I find the NatWest Blast is spread over too long a time for me to get any consistency and it is a shame our county game does not have a competition similar to the Big Bash," he said.

"Cricket Australia has done an amazing job promoting the tournament. The tickets are not expensive, hence the huge crowds.

"They market the competition very well and the standard is high."

"It is shown on terrestrial television and the product each franchise put together is special in terms of marketing and the way they go about their business."


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