Got on quite well with Kevin Pietersen but openly disliked each other, admits Graeme Swann
Graeme Swann has revealed that he got on professionally with Kevin Pietersen in comparison to the others in the English dressing room while openly disliking each other. He has also added that he needed Pietersen in the team because of his form, calling him ‘one of the best batsmen in the world.’
Former English off-spinner, Swann admitted that he got on quite well with Kevin Pietersen despite disliking each other openly. The duo were part of the hugely successful English side, who defeated rivals Australia both home and away. They were also part of the team during their rise to No.1 status in Test cricket. Following that, Pietersen and Andrew Strauss had a major fallout after which Pietersen was axed from the team.
“We were actually very similar in that way, and we actually got on me and KP professionally better than most people because we were very honest with but openly disliked each other. But wanted each other in the team,” he said on a podcast called ‘In the Pink’.
Before his axe, the right-hander had a brief stint as the Three Lions’ captain in three Tests and 10 ODIs before Strauss took over. Pietersen had to step down after the infamous fall-out with coach Peter Moores.
“With Kevin Pietersen, we had a situation where he had been captain before and didn’t much like establishment and rules. There were times when it was all exterior things like the texting against Andrew Strauss,” he added.
Despite that, the right-hander continued his golden-form, scoring 8181 runs in 104 Test matches while amassed 4440 runs in 136 ODIs. It was in 2014 when Pietersen was axed from the national team after the fall-out with Strauss.
“I wanted a KP in the team because he was scoring a lot of runs and playing really well, and simply he was one of the best batsmen in the world,” he concluded.
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