Sep 23, 2022

42-year-old former England International Cricketer Kevin Pietersendoesn't seem to agree with the decision of dropping Jason Roy from the upcoming Pakistan tour and World Cup T20 Squad. This former right-handed batsman believes Jason Roy would have been a great asset for the T20 World Cup 2022 in terms of experience. He doubts the capability of a newcomer youngster replacing an experienced senior opener.

"I understand why they’ve done it, but personally I would’ve stuck with Jason Roy for the T20 World Cup. You don’t want an opening batter walking out at the MCG not having done it before. You want that solidity at the top and that experience of what it takes on such a big occasion," Pietersen said in an interview on T20 betting site Betway.

Currently, Jason Roy is out of form and has struggled to put runs on the board all summer. Playing in The Hundred tournament he only contributed 51 runs in 51 balls in 6 matches. He began the league with three ducks in four innings and later missed out on the final two matches of Oval Invincibles due to lower back stiffness. In an interview with Sky Sports Pietersen reminisces about the events of the 2010 T20 World Cup.

He stresses upon the importance of a strong batting order, especially in top three. "My issue is that leading into a World Cup, you want some sort of solidarity at the top of your order. I think to win a T20 World Cup like when we won the T20 World Cup back in 2010 all those years ago - we had a one, two, three that was solid. We had one, two, three that actually performed, and then we had a middle order that made up when one of us didn't perform." England had won the title of 2010 T20 World Cup with Kevin Pietersen as their player of the tournament.

While Kevin argues about the axing of Jason Roy, he also gives a second thought about his dismissals. 

"Those dismissals tell us a lot about where his head space is" He further questions his easy dismissals "I just think the experience, Roy at the top of the order, walking out at the MCG against Starc, against Hazlewood, or walking out against Mohammed Shami, it's a case of 'right, I've got this under control because actually I scored almost 200 against Australia in a one-day game four or five years ago. Maybe they dropped him, because those dismissals tell us a lot about where his head space is."

"If you put a youngster up there and you put him in front of those guys on a big occasion, is it going to work?" he again questions. 

England team's managing director Rob Key had previously thought of taking Jonny Bairstow to open beside Captain Jos Buttler, but unfortunately, Bairstow was ruled out after facing a lower limb injury by slipping on a golf course.