Joe Root backs Kevin Pietersen’s surprise return to the England setup, saying Pietersen is “always brilliant” and could help bring out the best in the players. Root, who worked with Pietersen earlier in his international career, says he learned “a huge amount” from the former batsman when they played together.
Pietersen is appointed as a specialist mentor for England’s white-ball squads. The Guardian notes Pietersen and Root shared experiences during Root’s early England period, including Tests and ODIs before Pietersen was dropped in 2014. The Times of India adds that Root expects Pietersen’s guidance to benefit the current group, including in areas such as handling spin bowling. While the outlets focus on different parts of Root’s comments—one emphasizing their past partnership and mentorship experience, the other highlighting specific expected performance gains—both describe Pietersen’s role as mentoring within England’s limited-overs environment.
