Tag: Kevin Pietersen

Former England batter Kevin Pietersen predicted his semi-finalist teams for the forth-coming ICC Champions Trophy 2025, set to begin on 19 February in Pakistan.

While sharing his thoughts in a recent interview, the flamboyant batter confidently named arch-rivals India and Pakistan as top contenders for the title.

However, Pietersen surprisingly ruled out England and Australia as the semi-finalists due to their recent form and injury concerns.

“I mean, this is so hard. It really is. But with Mitchell Starc pulling out today, I’m gonna say India, Pakistan, South Africa, and New Zealand,” said Pietersen.

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Kevin Pietersen further backed South Africa and New Zealand as the two other teams to reach the semi-finals of the marquee tournament.

He stated that these teams have the potential to make a deep run in the competition.

For the unversed, Starc withdrew from the tournament, citing personal reasons, which means Australia will be without their famed pace trio in the mega event.

Starc’s compatriots Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins have already been ruled out of the Champions Trophy after sustaining injuries.

It’s worth noting that the ninth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy will kick off on 19 February with host and defending champions Pakistan taking on New Zealand in the curtain-raiser in Karachi’s National Bank Stadium.

The eight-team tournament will consist of 15 matches over 19 days and will take place in Pakistan and Dubai.

In Pakistan, Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Karachi will be the three venues to host tournament play. Each Pakistan venue will feature three group games apiece, with Lahore hosting the second semi-final.

Lahore will also host the final on 9 March, unless India qualify, in which case it will be played in Dubai. Both the semi-finals and the final will have reserve days.

READ: England batter faces injury scare ahead of Champions Trophy 2025

Former cricketers, including Wasim Akram and Kevin Pietersen, reacted over the Pakistan cricket team’s historic victory against Australia in the three-match ODI series.

Pakistan, under newly-appointed captain Mohammad Rizwan, defeated Australia in the third ODI by eight wickets in Perth to win their first series Down Under since 2002.

The visitors lost the first match of the three-match series by two wickets, however, they staged an impressive comeback to win the series 2-1.

Pakistan’s historic victory prompted reactions on social media from cricketers and analysts from across the globe.

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram, who was commentating during the series, took to his official X (formerly Twitter) account and commended the national cricket team for their performance.

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“Congratulations Team Pakistan, beating World ODI Champions in a series is a big achievement. Having witnessed and commentating on this series I feel honoured,” he posted.

“This win will give huge confidence to the players, to the new captain Rizwan, cricket board and, most importantly, to the fans. It will lift Pakistan’s cricket image hugely.”

Meanwhile, former national team director Mohammad Hafeez praised the team, especially pace bowlers for setting up the series victory.

“Congratulations team Pakistan winning the ODI series in Australia in their backyard. Well done guys. Proud of u all. Fast bowling set up this great victory in all games,” Hafeez posted.

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen also shared his opinion, praising Pakistan’s players for showing off their skills during the series.

“Pakistan win in Australia. This is the reason they have to sort out all the negative ‘noise’ and help the talent show off their skills. Put the politics aside and let the cricket do the talking,” Pietersen posted.

READ: Pakistan secure historic ODI series victory in Australia after 22-year drought

Former England batter Kevin Pietersen expressed his concerns regarding the premature resignation of Gary Kirsten as the white-ball head coach of Pakistan.

Kirsten was appointed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in April 2024 for a two-year period. However, he has stepped down from the role after a meagre six months.

The South African took charge during Pakistan’s four-match T20I series against England in the lead-up to the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

During his tenure as the white-ball head coach, Pakistan lost the series against England and were knocked out of the T20 World Cup from the group stage.

The sources revealed that Kirsten’s resignation came in the wake of his disagreements with the cricket board over central contracts and white-ball squads for the upcoming tour of Australia and Zimbabwe.

It is worth noting that previously, head coaches and captains of the respective formats were part of the selection committee as voting members.

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However, following Pakistan’s heavy defeat in the first Test against England, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) overhauled the selection committee, removing the captain and coach from the selection process, which did not sit well with Gary Kirsten.

Meanwhile, former England batter Kevin Pietersen questioned the PCB for letting go of a coach like Gary Kirsten, who boasts a solid resume.

“How can Pakistan Cricket lose [Gary Kirsten] with his resumè in coaching?” questioned Pietersen.

“One step forward the last few weeks and two steps back today! Stop doing it to yourselves. Too much talent to keep doing this kind of stuff!” he added.

Notably, the PCB accepted Gary Kirsten’s resignation and appointed red-ball coach Jason Gillespie as the interim head coach for the white-ball format during the upcoming tour of Australia.

“The Pakistan Cricket Board today announced Jason Gillespie will coach the Pakistan men’s cricket team on next month’s white-ball tour of Australia after Gary Kirsten submitted his resignation, which was accepted,” the cricket board posted.

READ: Mohammad Rizwan determined to lead ‘by example’ as white-ball captain

Former England batter Kevin Pietersen expressed his concerns regarding the current situation of the Pakistan cricket team, mainly pertaining to their shocking defeat against Bangladesh in the first Test on Sunday.

Pakistan succumbed to a 10-wicket defeat against Bangladesh in the opening Test of the two-match series, underway in Rawalpindi.

The defeat was Pakistan’s first ever against Bangladesh in Test cricket.

Following the defeat, several strategies; such as going with an all-pace attack, declaration and batting failure in the second innings.

Pakistan, after being put into bat first, accumulated 448/6 and declared their first innings in the dying minutes of the second day. Bangladesh, in response, piled up a mammoth total of 565, courtesy of Mushfiqur Rahim’s marathon 191-run knock, before bundling out in the third session of the fourth day.

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The first Test was assumed to be heading towards a draw but Pakistan’s batting lineup faltered on the final day and could score 146, setting Bangladesh a meagre 30-run target.

The Bangladesh openers made no mistake in chasing down a paltry total and steered their side to a historic victory over Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Kevin Pietersen, who has featured in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in the past, recalled his experience of playing with the local talent here before raising questions about the current situation of the sport in the country.

“What happened to cricket in Pakistan? When I played the PSL, the standard of that league was tremendous, the players had a very good work ethic and the youngsters on display were magic. What’s happening there?,” Pietersen wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

For the unversed, Kevin Pietersen represented Quetta Gladiators in two editions of the PSL in 2017 and 2018.

He represented the former champions in 27 matches.

READ: Kuldeep Yadav “excited” to visit Pakistan for Champions Trophy 2025