Pietersen: 'This has been the toughest period of my career, a great challenge'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Kevin Pietersen last night admitted that the last two months had been the toughest of his cricketing life. The England captain made the comments after watching his side draw the second Test in Mohali, an outcome that resulted in England losing their first Test series under his leadership.
"This has probably been the toughest six to eight weeks of my career so far," he said. "In fact, it has been a tough two months for English cricket – the Stanford week, coming here and losing 5-0 in the one-dayers, the Mumbai attacks and then being pipped at the post last week in the first Test.
"But I think the guys have shown a lot of character. They have played with smiles on their faces, trained and prepared hard, and they deserve a good break over Christmas. Results have not gone our way but it has not been through lack of effort.
"We have competed well against a great side that are at the top of their game. I think our guys can be really proud of themselves. We came close to winning in Chennai but Sachin Tendulkar took the game away from us.
"In this fixture we have fallen a bit short but we have still played some very good cricket. I do not take many negatives from what has taken place in the past two weeks. We have loved being back in India.
"I never thought the captaincy would be easy, I don't think the captaincy job is easy in any sport," Pietersen added. "You acknowledge when you take on the job that it will be difficult. You know that it will be very hard at times, but when the good times come back again it makes you enjoy them a bit more."
England may have lost the series 1-0 but there has been far more at stake in the past fortnight than lifting a trophy and collecting a bit of prize money.
The Mumbai terrorist attacks, and the fact that the events made England contemplate not returning to India on grounds of safety and security, threatened the existence of international cricket as we know it.
If India had become a "no go" destination, as Pakistan currently is, the finances of cricket would have taken a huge hit. India supplies the game with more than 70 per cent of its money. But it was assurances on safety and security, not money, that convinced England to return for the Test series, a decision that ultimately proved to be the correct one.
"I feel really proud to be the captain of the bunch of guys we brought out here," said Pietersen. "It was great that everyone we picked came out here. The team have been great ambassadors out here and the Indian people have been magnificent towards us.
"I believe there are a few guys who have done exceptionally well out here. The circumstances in which we came back made it really, really tough. I have learnt a lot about the squad. It has been interesting to captain away from home. But I've enjoyed it; it has been a great challenge."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments