MIRPUR - Star all-rounder Shane Watson is sad that Kevin Pietersen is not playing international cricket anymore and wants someone like Australian coach Darren Lehmann to guide the maverick England batsman.
Pietersen's international career was cut short after the England and Wales Cricket Board decided to drop him from the team for the ongoing World Twenty20 Championships. Watson said Pietersen's absence is the tournament's loss.
"For me, it's sad that Kevin Pietersen is not playing international cricket. He has always been one of my favourite players as he could take the game away anytime. I loved watching him bat in the way he took on bowlers in all forms of the game. But things now might just change with new coach. It's a loss for the tournament that Kevin would not be there," 32-year-old Watson said in an interaction during an open media session of the Australian team here today.
Watson feels that just like Lehmann's appointment as the chief coach helped a rudderless Aussie team get direction, it might just work for Pietersen and England if they get someone like him to guide them through this crisis. "Hope things work out for England as Kevin is an incredible player.
Certainly they will miss his cricketing abilities and they need someone to help Kevin. To guide him in the right direction just like Darren Lehmann guided this current Australian team. Lehmann pointed the ship in the right direction and everyone was on board.
"Great coaches are those who were not only great cricketers but also those who get the respect when he walks in. Someone who does things for right reasons. My experience of playing with Kevin in Hampshire is that he is a good guy," Watson said in a pragmatic tone.”
Although he has moved on since the infamous 'Homework Gate' episode happened during the away series against India last year, the scars still remain as he made it clear how Mickey Arthur's removal and Lehmann's appointment changed things for the better. "Look, since Darren Lehmann came in, he has certainly made a huge change to our group. There was a period of time (Arthur era) which certainly wasn't ideal that team environment. Darren came in and turned things around. He knew having played the game as to what kind of environment is needed to get best out of us and made those changes immediately," Watson said without referring to Arthur even once.