Pietersen eyes a spot in South African team
Former captain of the England cricket team, Kevin Pietersen said that he could return to international cricket with South Africa, where he made his first class debut. Pietersen was speaking post his match in the ongoing NatWest T20 Blast where he plays for Surrey. He will be eligible to play for SA only in 2019. He was dropped unceremoniously from England team in 2013-14.
Pietersen hoping to return for 2019 World Cup
Since his departure from the England cricket team, Pietersen has been playing in various domestic leagues all over the world including the Indian Premier League, Sunfoil Series (South Africa), Big Bash League (Australia) and Pakistan Super League. He is reportedly eyeing for an international comeback during the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup to be hosted in England and Wales.
"I will play for South Africa. It's a possibility"
The 37-year old has his hopes alive and said, "I'll play for South Africa. It's a possibility. We'll wait until 2019. All I'm doing now is committing to the franchises."
Pietersen's career in numbers
Kevin Pietersen made his test debut for England in 2005 and played 104 tests and 136 ODI matches in a decade long career. A top order batsman, he scored 8181 runs in tests, hitting 23 centuries and 4440 runs in ODIs. He has 1176 runs from 37 T20 internationals. He captained the team for 3 tests and 12 ODIs.
How can Pietersen be eligible to play for SA?
According to ICC, a cricketer is eligible to play for another country where he/she is born if they are not part of any national team for four preceding years. Pietersen could play for SA in 2019 since he was sacked from England in 2014.
