Kevin Pietersen Biography:
Kevin Pietersen, who by birth is a South African, was one of the best batsmen to bat for England especially in Test cricket, and was impeccable in ODI cricket too.
He was the first 360 degrees player in the history of cricket, as he was the first one who started playing ramp shots and the sweeps, reverse sweeps, and switch hits. Even after such a staggering career, he is one of the most underrated cricket players.
Kevin Pietersen Biography will gives you each and every details of his illustrious career.
Kevin Pietersen Family:
He was born on 27th June 1980 in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa to an African father and an English mother. He decided to move to England due to the racial quota system in African cricket. His family consisted of his father, Jannie Pietersen, his mother, Penny Pietersen, and his three brothers Tony, Bryan, and Greg Pietersen.
His father always believed in discipline and expected the same from his children. Kevin used to play rugby, cricket, and other sports too. Pietersen after a severe arm injury stopped playing rugby when he was 11 years old.
In 2007, Kevin Pietersen and Jessica Taylor got married, and now he has 2 children namely Rosie Pietersen and Dyland Pietersen.
Key Points:
- On 27th June 1980 in Pietermaritzburg, Kevin was born.
- His father’s name is Jannie Pietersen.
- His mother’s name is Penny Pietersen.
- Kevin has three other siblings named Tony, Bryan, and Greg Pietersen.
- In 2007, Kevin tied his knot with Jessica Taylor.
Early career:
Kevin Pietersen cricket debut in first-class cricket as he played his first match for Natal’s B team in 1997 where he was considered as an off-spin bowler and a hard-hitting lower-order batsman. But, the racial quota system in cricket caused displeasure to him and he decided to shift to England in 2000, for a better cricketing career.
He started playing for the club Cannock CC as an overseas player in 2000 and also helped them to win Birmingham and District League. But, these early days were very tough for Pietersen as he faced problems with country accents, had to live in a single room behind the squash court, and had to work in a club bar, so that he could play cricket.
As to Pietersen’s fortunes, Clive Rice saw him play in a school cricket match and was highly impressed and invited him to play for Nottinghamshire Cricket Club, which was accepted immediately by Pietersen without any hesitation, due to his admiration towards Rice and a chance that of playing domestic cricket and qualifying to play for England.
It was a brilliant start for Kevin Pietersen as he scored a century on his debut against Loughborough. The debut season of Kevin Pietersen was an exceptional one, as he scored more than 1000 runs at an approximate average of 57.95 as he also hit a double century. He continued his purple patch in the next season, as he again scored an unbeatable double century against Middlesex and his name in the England Test squad seemed inevitable.
After successive first class success, he was selected for ECB National Academy’s tour of India in 2003/04. It turned out to be a successful tour for him as he scored 3 centuries in the tour. He was selected to play his debut match against Zimbabwe.
Key points:
- In 1997, Kevin Pietersen made his first-class debut for Natal’s B team.
- In 2000, Pietersen decided to move to England to better his career.
- In his debut for Nottinghamshire Cricket Club, Pietersen scored a hundred on his debut.
- After his successful tour in the 2003-04 season for ECB national academy, Pieterson played his debut against Zimbabwe.
ODI career:
KP scored a calm 27 runs to take England to the target of 195 runs in his debut match against Zimbabwe. But, little did he know that he would go on to become the Legend of the game. He brought back that swagger to the game of cricket, which batsmen like Viv Richards and Gundappa Vishwanath used to possess.
He used to stand out from other players because of his reverse sweeps and switch hits. Nobody had ever tried to play such shots behind the wicket and then came this man, leave alone spinners, he used to hit such innovative shots to pace bowlers too. He used to have his swagger due to his batting abilities as well as his confidence in thrashing bowlers, even on his bad day.
Every cricket fan knows that there are some cricketers who cannot be judged by their stats, KP was one of them. The impact he created and the way he bullied bowlers showed his brave and confident attitude towards his game.
He played one of his best One Day innings, in his starting days, when he scored 91 not out against Australia in Bristol, 2005 when England was struggling for 119/4 and had to chase 253 runs, he came and he bullied the likes of Watson, Gillespie and chased down the total single-handedly with more than 2 overs left to play.
He announced his arrival in international cricket with one of the best ODI innings played by any batsman ever. No England player ever possessed the ability to change the complexion of the game, until KP arrived to play for the team.
One of Pietersen’s greatest limited-overs innings was this near faultless innings against Pakistan in the aftermath of a humiliating 3-0 Test whitewash against the same team. KP hit 6 fours and 1 six in this pulsating knock on a difficult pitch in a winning cause.
Kevin Pietersen played 136 ODIs for England where he scored 4440 runs at an average of 40.73, Kevin Pietersen centuries in this format are nine and he has also got 25 half-centuries. He also picked up 7 wickets in his ODI career.
He played his last One Day match in 2013 against Australia, where he opened the innings and unfortunately got out on a first ball duck.
Key Points:
- Kevin Pietersen invented the reverse Sweeps and Switch hit shots in cricket.
- In 2005, Pietersen played his one of the best Innings against Australia, where he struck 91 runs.
- Kevin Pietersen has played 136 ODI matches for the English team and has 4440 runs to his name.
- In 2013, Kevin Pietersen puts a curtain on his international career.
Test Career:
Kevin Pietersen England test debut was made against their toughest rivals- Australia in the all-important Ashes. He scored half-centuries in both innings of the match, but could not prevent England from losing the match. Then came the match which changed KP’s Test career, England was leading the series 2-1 until the final test match.
It was an important match for England to win the Ashes, which was the need of the hour, because of England’s previous humiliating performance in 2003/04. England was struggling at 67/3 after taking a 10 run lead in the first innings, but then came the “Bully” and smacked the likes of McGrath, Warne, Lee as he scored 158, Kevin Pietersen batting on that day prevented Australia from winning the match, as the match was drawn which led to an English Ashes victory.
The swagger in that innings showed his nerves under pressure and his no-nonsense attitude towards the game of cricket. Considering the situation back then, people used to believe that Pietersen would become a One Day great, but to everyone’s surprise, he was a better Test batsman just like Virender Sehwag.
Even after playing in today’s batsman-friendly pitches, nobody has even come close to the level of threat he used to possess. He played some match-winning innings in Test matches for England.
Kevin Pietersen highest score in test cricket is 186 against India in Mumbai, in 2012 was his best innings as he overcame his weakness against left-arm spin and gave Pragyan Ojha a nightmare as he continuously hit him for boundaries. One more inning from KP’s hall of fame is his cleanest innings of 149 against South Africa at Headingly, 2012.
His dazzling innings against the South African bowling line up including Dale Steyn, who was the best test match bowler of the world, was one of his crispest knocks ever.
His 129 against New Zealand, when England were 4/3, in Napier, 2008 showed that he not only possessed the prance, but also possessed the maturity and calmness to get England out of trouble.
Unfortunately, he played his last match against Australia in 2014, where he was only able to score 3 and 6 runs in his 2 innings and also England lost the match as well as the Ashes.
Kevin Pietersen England cricket has played 104 Test matches for England where he scored 8181 runs at an average of 47.29 including 23 centuries which included three double hundreds and 35 half-centuries. He also picked up 10 wickets in Test match cricket.
Key Points:
- Kevin Pietersen made his test debut against the Australian team in the Ashes.
- In 2003/04 season Pietersen’s 158 runs saved the English team losing the Ashes against Australia.
- In 2012, he has scored his highest score of 186 against India.
- Pietersen played his last test match against Australia in 2014.
- In his career, he has played 104 test matches where he struck 8181 runs.
T20 Cricket:
In his short T20 career of 37 matches, he scored 1176 runs at an impressive average of 37.94 which included 7 half-centuries. But, T20 cricket gave him the moment which neither ODI cricket nor Test cricket could give. Kevin Pietersen team won their first T20 world cup in 2010.
His best T20 performance also came in the Finals of the T20 World Cup, 2010 as he scored a chilling 47 against Australia and led England to their maiden International T20 World Cup win. Kevin Pietersen was adjudged as man of the series in England’s winning campaign.
Key Points:
- Kevin Pietersen has played a total of 37 T20 matches for the English team.
- The superstar also has got an impressive average of 37.94 runs.
- Pietersen has also won the 2010 T20 world cup with the English national team.
- In the 2010 T20 world cup final, Pietersen played and crucial innings of 47 run against Australia.
Indian Premier League:
Kevin Pietersen IPL journey was for a shorter period, Kevin Pietersen IPL teams are namely Deccan Chargers, Delhi Daredevils, and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Even in his short IPL career, he scored more than one thousand runs including a dazzling century against Deccan Chargers in 2012.
He also picked up 7 wickets. He was also one of the most expensive players in the history of IPL, as he was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2009 Auction for $1.55 million.
Key Points:
- Pietersen has played a total of 36 IPL matches.
- Pietersen has played for teams like Deccan Chargers, Delhi Daredevils, and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
- In 2009, Royal Challengers spends $1.55 million for him.
Records and Achievements:
- Graeme Smith and Kevin Pietersen never liked each other because Pietersen was against the racial quota system and criticized Smith when he became the captain of South Africa in 2003 and categorized him as an absolute muppet and childish. Smith opposed Pietersen’s statement because as he himself said that he is patriotic and that is why he did not like Kevin Pietersen.
- Nottinghamshire’s captain Jason Galion threw away KP’s kit bag off the balcony as he had a heated argument with KP after he expressed his concern about the standard of pitches
- He is the fastest player to reach 1000 Test runs in merely 21 innings
- He won 2 ICC awards in the year 2005- Emerging player of the Year and ODI Player of the Year
- Yuvraj Singh v Kevin Pietersen: After being dismissed by Yuvraj in the Second Test, KP called him a “Pie Chucker” to which Yuvi replied that he has dismissed KP five times in Test match cricket
- The Text message controversy: In South Africa’s tour of England, 2012 KP degraded his captain Andrew Strauss in a text message sent to AB De Villiers and Dale Steyn by him. Later, he apologized by posting a Youtube video.
- Pietersen became a full-time captain of the England side after Michael Vaughan’s retirement. He, however, didn’t last long as a captain, resigning in 2009 after a rift with the national coach Peter Moores, who was sacked, as well.
- He played his infamous “Switch Hit” in a Test match against Sri Lanka in Birmingham in 2006, which has become so famous as to the likes of Warner, Maxwell, De Villiers etc
- Wisden Cricketers of the Year- 2006
- Second-highest run-total from his first 25 Tests ( Behind Don Bradman)
- Fourth Englishman to make the top score in both innings of debut Test (Ashes 2005)
- One of only twenty-five players to have a peak ICC batting rating over 900
- Achieved 5,000 Test runs in the fastest time, reaching this feat in 4 years and 243 days.
Kevin Pietersen was and will be one of the most destructive batsmen of the game of cricket. But, he was one cricketer who never received his due credit and always remained underrated.
The best part about his game is he had no weaknesses, only Kevin Pietersen could get Kevin Pietersen out. It was a rare combination of temperament and panache as well as maturity and class. The player did not have a starry career and he was always stuck in controversies. He retired at a very young age of 33 in 2014. But, he was one of the most complete players to have graced this game of cricket.
Shane Warne on Kevin Pietersen: “Kevin Pietersen can be the best”
Post Retirement:
Kevin Pietersen after retiring in 2014 has always worked for welfare and conservation of endangered animals in South Africa. In 2018, he also opened his own resort known as Umganu Lodge near the Kruger National Park. He also established Saving Our Rhinos Africa & India (SORAI), an Australian charity supporting rhinoceros conservation.
In 2019, BBC Radio 5 Live featured Pietersen in the Beast of Man podcast. The program profiled his role in combating illegal poaching, particularly that of rhinoceros. Currently, he is also working as a commentator and cricket analyst. His current net worth is $7.5 million.
Key Points:
- After his retirement, Pietersen worked for Welfare and conservation of endangered animals in South Africa.
- Has also done podcasting on BBC Radio as well.
- Currently, he is working as a cricket commentator.
Kevin Pietersen Social Media handles:
