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While former England captain Alastair Cook is set to embrace the life after the sport, there is little that the batsman has not achieved over his career. A world-class batsman and a true leader, the strained relationship with Kevin Pietersen remains the only scarred mark in his illustrious journey.
With Cook’s journey coming towards an end, the opener hopes that time can heal the damage caused in the relationship with the former England batsman despite not being in touch for four years. Pietersen was sacked from the England National Team following a 5-0 mauling where the batsman was accused of being disengaged from the team.
Cook revealed that he could have handled the situation better and went in depth on the issue speaking to BBC Radio’s Test Match Special. Cook stated:
“I haven’t spoken to him since that day but I think time is a great healer,”
“We spent a lot of time together and created some amazing memories. The thing is, we never fell out. Since then, the internet has fallen out for us.”
“As two blokes, if you take cricket out of it, we have never fallen out. He will have a different opinion, I’m sure,” he added of the batsman who brought the curtain down on his own playing career in March.
Cook, who will retire from international cricket after the fifth and final Test against India starting on Friday, said that as captain, he was involved in the decision to sack Pietersen but the final call was collectively taken by senior ECB figures.
“I’d refute anyone saying that I was the one that chucked him down the stairs but I was involved in the decision and I believed it was right at that time,” Cook added.
“Looking back, I can safely say all the decisions I made were done for the best of the England cricket team at that time. On that one, there were a lot of other people, way above my head, also involved in it.”
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