Talismanic batter Joe Root has welcomed the appointment of Kevin Pietersen as specialist mentor for England's men's white-ball teams, describing the move as one that will benefit the group. Root noted that he is likely the last active international cricketer to have played alongside Pietersen, giving his reaction a particular personal weight.
Root reflected on his early experiences with Pietersen as a senior player, recalling a tour of India where the former cricketer helped him develop his game against
spin by giving him valuable advice in the nets.
"Yeah, probably the last player to have played with him is still going. So I really enjoyed him as a senior player. Coming into the team, he was someone that I would spend, you know, I'd be shadowing all the time. That first tour of India in particular, I'd try and buddy up with him in the nets, watch how he practised, watch how he did things, ask him for advice," Root said in a press conference.
"And he was really open, really honest, very helpful in terms of how to get the best out of my game against spin," he added.
"It's really going to benefit us as a group" 🗣️
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) September 8, 2026
Joe Root on the return of Kevin Pietersen to the England fold as a specialist mentor for white-ball teams 🏴 pic.twitter.com/GMrL55R3ub
Root believes that if Pietersen can help the players in the same way he helped him, it will augur well for the Three Lions.
"If he can offer that kind of stuff in a coaching capacity, as he did as a senior player, then I think it's really going to benefit us as a group. So I'm really excited to work with him and, you know, get him in the environment," Root stated.
Pietersen's appointment was confirmed on Monday, September 7, 2026, and marks his first formal involvement with the England team since his international playing career ended in 2014. He will join head coach Brendon McCullum's white-ball setup for the T20I and ODI series against Sri Lanka later in September 2026, alongside a coaching team that includes Marcus Trescothick, Tim Southee, Jeetan Patel and Sarah Taylor.
Pietersen's schedule in the role extends beyond the Sri Lanka series. He will also be part of England's white-ball tours of Australia and South Africa during the winter, before returning for home series against Pakistan and New Zealand next summer and then the ICC Cricket World Cup, which is to be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia in the autumn of 2027.
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Pietersen's appointment: scope and background
Pietersen played 136 ODIs and 37 T20 internationals for England across a ten-year international career, scoring more than 5,500 runs in those formats. He scored close to 4,500 ODI runs at an average of 41.32, a figure bettered only by Root among England batters. In T20 cricket, he holds the highest average of all England batters to have scored more than 1,000 runs for the country. Having grown up in South Africa, his knowledge of conditions in that region is noted as relevant context ahead of the World Cup.
