Kevin Pietersen

Kevin Pietersen is a South African-born English cricketer, currently playing as a right-handed batsman and off spinner for England, Surrey and IPL side Delhi Daredevils. Widely-considered to be one of the best batsmen in world cricket, Pietersen has been a popular but often controversial figure since bursting onto the scene in 2005, gaining as many fans as critics during a colourful career.

Born in Pietermaritzburg, Natal Province, South Africa, to an English mother and a South African father, Pietersen made his first-class debut in 1997 for Natal before making the decision to head to England to further his international hopes. The batsman highlighted the South African racial quota system as a key factor in his decision. 

After serving his required four year qualifying period county level for Nottinghamshire, Pietersen was almost immediately handed his chance with the England ODI side, making his international debut against Zimbabwe in 2004, going on to hit two sensational centuries against South Africa in 2005 to earn his place in the 2005 Ashes squad that summer. 

Scoring 473 runs to help England to win back the urn from Australia, Pietersen finished the series as the leading run scorer, cementing his place as one of the world's most exciting batsmen. Pietersen has played a key role in England's three subsequent Ashes series wins, hitting four centuries in his Ashes career. 

Pietersen's continued sensational form with the bat saw him named captain of the England Test and ODI teams in early August 2008. However, after just three Tests and nine ODIs, and following a very public falling-out with England coach Peter Moores, Pietersen made the decision to jump before he was pushed from the position. 

That wasn't the only disagreement Pietersen has had with the ECB, the biggest coming in the summer of 2012 when a disagreement over his schedule and involvement in the lucrative IPL led to Pietersen announcing his retirement from all forms of international limited-overs cricket at the end of May 2012. That decision was soon changed, however, allowing one of the world's most dangerous batsmen to continue his career.  

Pietersen reached 1,000 and 2,000 runs in One Day International cricket faster than any batsman in history, and was the fastest player, in terms of days, to reach 4,000, 5,000 and 7,000 Test runs. Pietersen became only the third English batsman to top the ICC One Day International batting rankings in 2007. 

With a Test average of 47 and an ODI average of 40, Pietersen has proven himself time and again on the international stage, and doing it in such style that the world will remember him as one of the most watchable batsmen in the modern game. 

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