There are cricketers and then there are superstars, Kevin Pietersen definitely falls in the latter bracket. Often considered the cricketing equivalent to David Beckham, Pietersen with his wide array of shots, fearsome display of batting and an appealing personality has earned fans across the globe and is one of the most loved cricketers in India today. Though his controversial England cricketing career ended in 2014, however he had been plying his trade across the globe in various T-20 leagues and was one of the star attractions in most of these leagues. However, last month he bid adieu from all forms of cricket post his stint in the Pakistan Super League.
Born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa on 27 June, 1980, Pietersen was born to an Afrikaner father and English mother. Like many others, he voiced his displeasure with the racial quota system in South African cricket and made his way to Nottinghamshire and was eligible to play for England, courtesy his English mother and after serving his stint of 4 years in English County Cricket. He was selected to the England national almost immediately after completing the mandatory 4year period and what an impact this man made. In just his second ODI series where he was selected in the English side touring his country of birth, South Africa, Pietersen was awarded the Man of the Series for his splendid run where he scored an astonishing 454 runs in 5 innings though England lost the series 4-1. Kevin Pietersen had arrived. In his 104 test matches,he scored 8181 runs at an average of 47.28. He also played 136 ODIs and scored 4440 runs with 9 100s and 25 50s. Inspite of such a glorious career, it was always his off the field antics that grabbed headlines. He was a popular cricketer but not so popular with his own team.
After spreading his magic through his bat, Kevin Pietersen is on a different role these days. His new job, according to his Instagram bio is to save rhinos from extinction. He is also associated with SORAI – Save Our Rhinos Africa/India and has been working extensively against Rhino poaching. A few weeks back, he shared a very interesting message on Instagram. It read, “Yeh bohut achi Khabar hai , isse Padne ke liye mein bohut Khush hoon, india mein appse bohut pyar karta hoon aur aapke jaanwaro se bhi bohut pyar karta hoon . @sorai2018 aapke sabhi pyaare jaanwaro se pratibrad hai . Hum rhinos se suruwatt kar rahe hai . Mein bohut khush hoon . Sabhi ko mera pyaar, KP”
KP is surely enjoying his post retirement days and in such a noble way. KUDOS !!!