Kevin Pietersen has joined England’s white-ball coaching team as a “specialist mentor” ahead of next year’s World Cup in southern Africa, the England Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Monday.
The former England captain will join Brendon McCullum’s coaching staff for the series against Sri Lanka coming up later this month, working alongside Marcus Trescothick, Tim Southee, Jeetan Patel and Sarah Taylor.
The 46-year-old Pietersen will be part of England’s white-ball tours to Australia and South Africa and the home series against Pakistan and New Zealand next summer, before the ODI World Cup .
“I am immensely proud to have been asked to help this team on their journey to win a World Cup in South Africa. Putting on the England uniform again for the first time since 2014 is a profound honour and a deeply special moment,” Pietersen said.
“We have an incredibly talented white-ball squad and I am excited to get in the trenches and work relentlessly hard with these players to maximise their potential.
“To be a part of Brendon’s think tank over the next 12 months is a fantastic opportunity, and I cannot wait to get started.”
Pietersen played 136 ODIs and 37 T20 matches for England, scoring more than 5,500 runs. He also scored 8,181 runs in his 104 Test matches.
Pietersen’s South African upbringing could prove particularly valuable as England prepares for the World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia from October 2027.
“I’m particularly excited for our batters to get the opportunity to work with him,” McCullum said. “KP has a unique understanding of what it takes to perform at the highest level, which will be hugely valuable to our players.
“We’ve always respected each other and had a strong appreciation for what the other brings to the game, so I’m really looking forward to working together.”