Alastair Cook regrets his messy handling of Kevin Pietersen sacking saga

Amidst the 2014 summer, English cricket was in a crisis of sorts as the team lost the series to Sri Lanka and then immediately went down to India. The Ashes following that was one more disaster as England lost 5-0 and in the backdrop of those forgettable events, Pietersen’s international career was brought to an end with the England Cricket Board saying it was time to “rebuild not only the team but also team ethic and philosophy.”

The South Africa-born cricketer was always outspoken and shared publicly about his reservations against the then-coach Andy Flower. That incident proved to be the final nail in the coffin in KP’s career, who a year earlier, was suspended for exchanging text messages with the South African team about his then-skipper Andrew Strauss. 

To take a decision on KP, ECB did a casting vote poll and although Cook, who was the captain by then, didn’t have to vote, he was consulted on the decision for which the Essex man had later stated that he had been hung out to dry by the ECB with the impression being it was ultimately his decision. And now, with his own international career coming to an end, Cook admits that there were issues with how the whole affair played out.

"It could have been handled differently. I have a regret over it, it wasn't great for English cricket. The end of the Sri Lanka series and the Lord's Test, that was the lowest I was."

"The fall-out of that wasn't great for English cricket and wasn't great for me. I was involved in that decision without being the bloke who actually made the final decision."

While many predicted English cricket to be on a swift decline after KP’s ousting, Cook turned the English fortune around in the next assignments as England registered a 3-1 win over India and regained the Ashes in 2015. 

"When it was real tough I didn't throw the towel in," said Cook. "I still thought I was the best man for the job and the right man to be captain at that time. It wasn't easy. I could have taken the easy option but I didn't. And I got the - that sounds selfish but - the team got the reward winning the 2015 Ashes, which was just brilliant."