KP fears English batters failed to ‘learn the art of playing spin’ in India

Kevin Pietersen has questioned England's preparedness for the Champions Trophy in Pakistan after a dismal outing in the T20 and ODI series in India.

The former batting superstar has accused the players of letting down the English fans by not training enough in the subcontinent conditions. In a series of posts on X, Pietersen said he was 'absolutely gobsmacked' by the alleged lack of net sessions between England's 4-1 drubbing in T20Is and the ODI series that followed.

"I believe Joe Root was the only player to have a net this series, post-Nagpur. There isn’t a single sportsman on this planet who can honestly say, that they’d improve without practicing whilst they’re getting beaten," Pietersen posted.

He mocked the supposed argument that fear of getting injured ahead of the Champions Trophy was a reason for allegedly skipping net sessions. Pietersen was miffed by the present generation's struggles against spin, a problem he faced in his illustrious English career that lasted a decade and involved over 12,000 runs.

"Injuries are part of sport and this schedule is like every bilateral series almost ever played. Injuries are not stopping batters from batting against net bowlers and learning the art of playing spin. And that’s where they should have been to Improve. Trust me on this one as it saved my career against spin."

Pietersen's struggles against spin are well-documented. Bangladeshi journalist Mohammad Isam, who played first-division cricket in his home country, once reported helping Pietersen prepare for left-arm spinners during a tour in 2010. Isam, who bowled left-arm spin, wrote about testing Pietersen's resolve in a private net session supervised by then-coach Andy Flower.

The English side that toured India was bowled out in all three ODIs, and spinners accounted for half of those wickets. Top-order batter Joe Root was dismissed twice by Ravindra Jadeja and once by Axar Patel.

Pietersen eventually mellowed out as he expressed hope about a turnaround in English fortunes in Pakistan. "I really hope they do because I do love the players and they have so much talent," Pietersen posted. England face Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa in Group B of the Champions Trophy. All their matches will be played at Lahore.