London: The England and Wales Cricket Board announced that England batsman Kevin Pietersen has retired from all international limited overs cricket with immediate effect.
Pietersen will remain available for consideration in future contract awards as a specialist Test Match player only.
The 31 year old has played 127 ODIs and 36 international T20s for England, making his international debut in 2004 against Zimbabwe in Harare. Pietersen has scored 4184 runs at an average of 42 in one-day internationals and averages 38 in international T20 cricket.
Pietersen, who discussed his position with the ECB during the recent Investec Test against West Indies at Lord’s, accepts that his current contract will continue to run through to September 2012 but that the contract will be downgraded to reflect the fact that he will only be selected for Test match cricket for the remainder of his current contract.
The terms of the central contract state that any player making himself unavailable for either of the one day formats automatically rules himself out of consideration for both formats of the game as planning for both formats is closely linked. This is designed to reflect the importance of one-day international cricket which is a strategic priority as England look for improved performances in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy and the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup.
Kevin Pietersen commented: ‘After a great deal of thought and deliberation, I am today announcing my retirement from International One Day Cricket. With the intensity of the international schedule and the increasing demands on my body, approaching 32, I think it is the right time to step aside and let the next generation of players come through to gain experience for the ICC World Cup in 2015.
‘I am immensely proud of my achievements in the One Day game, but still wish to be considered for selection for England in Test cricket.
‘For the record, were the selection criteria not in place, I would have readily played for England in the upcoming ICC World Twenty20.’
BDST: 1743 HRS, May 31, 2012
Edited by: Manoz Halder, Newsroom Editor
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