Kevin Pietersen has been grabbing the headlines for the statement that he recently made when he said that he is not English but just works in England. The statement was perhaps not called for as the Test series is scheduled to start in 3 days time.

KEVIN PIETERSEN has once again hogged the limelight for negative reasons, as he has said that he is not English, but just works in England. The timing of the statement comes just 3 days before the first Test match, which is scheduled to start on July 21. The statement might not be taken well by the England cricket board.

It is not for the first time that the South African born English player has been in the middle of a controversy. He had come into the limelight of the Indian media too when he called Yuvraj Singh a ‘pie chucker’ for his bowling, after which, Yuvraj and Pietersen had on field problems whenever they met in the cricket field. Both players were engaged in sledging against one another. Pietersen's career had also been under threat as the English board felt that he was not committed while playing for England.

He is not the only player from South Africa in the England team.

Other players such as the skipper of the team, Andrew Strauss, Jonathan Trott and Matt Prior also are from South Africa. Kevin Pietersen decided to play for England as he was not able to get a place in the South Afrcian squad due to the quota system that was prevalent in South Africa. Therefore, he should not have made that statement as it was England that gave him the opportunity to represent England. In his initial days when he played for England in South Africa the crowd jeered the player, and he was considered to be a traitor. But he took all this in his stride, and soon enough he played some of his best knocks in the bilateral series between England and South Africa. 

It is time for Kevin Pietersen to talk with his willow, which would itself help in silencing the issue (his statement), which may burn if he does not perform in the upcoming series, as he is a very important player for England.