Former England captain Andrew Strauss said he was surprised that controversial batsman Kevin Pietersen has been brought back into the England fold so swiftly, but added that if the South Africa-born batsman was selected for the India tour, he could single-handedly win Tests for the team.
Strauss urged the team management, Pietersen and his teammates in the dressing room to move on from the long-dragging saga.
“I didn’t think it was going to happen this quickly. I don’t know how the meetings have been going with the ECB and Andy (Flower, the England coach), but they obviously feel that they’ve been given assurances,” said Strauss.
“Once he’s back in the side it’s very important that people move on. It’s obviously been a difficult situation for everyone really. If Andy and Cooky (Alastair Cook) and the ECB think the time is right now, then obviously we all need to get behind them,” he added.
“We all know what Kevin is capable of. He can show that in India and help them win some Test matches,” Strauss said.
The former captain made it clear that Pietersen’s return to the England squad was just the first step towards building bridges with the rest of the team.
“I think a lot of what should happen now is that people have to sit down and be honest with each other, saying how they felt and getting it out of their systems and then clearing the way to move forward,” Strauss said.
“That’s a big part of it. But it’s also about commitment to England and the principles and standards by which the team operates. That’s an important part of it and hopefully, those issues have been addressed now,” he added.
