Kevin Pietersen considers playing for South Africa

Ex-England batsman Kevin Pietersen has said he could return to international cricket with his native South Africa.

The 35-year-old has not played an international match since he was sacked by England in 2014.

He has since become a T20 specialist but would be eligible to play for South Africa in all forms of the game in 2018.

"Yes, it is a thought in my head," said Pietersen, who has also not given up hope of a return to the England set-up.

Pietermaritzburg-born Pietersen left South Africa 16 years ago and qualified to play for England via his English mother.

This compares to Graeme Smith that wants to come back to cricket. We don't want him and we don't need him. We have excellent opening batsmen and KP simply does not match up. He has a lot of arrogance thinking he would be an automatic pick for the team should he become eligible. South Africans hate KP as we all feel he abandoned his country out of greed. The other players in the Protea team do not respect him and do not want to play with him. He is a classic example of how an ego can ruin a career.

In fairness to KP, the question was put to him. He never came out and said that he wants to play for South Africa. Sky asked him whether he had ever considered playing for South Africa, to which he admitted it was a thought that had crossed his mind, but that he would still like to play international cricket for England. The full quote:

Quote:"Obviously, playing international cricket is something I have done for a very long time.

"Do I miss playing international cricket? Do I miss batting in international cricket? Yes, I do very much, so you never know.

"The eligibility for South Africa is still (over) a year away. So we will have to wait and see.

"An English call-up is definitely still an option. I am in a great frame of mind now."

Of course, he could have simply said, "no, the thought has never entered my mind," but we all know that KP loves the attention.

KP would get into every international T20 side in the world if not for his off the field attitude and antics. The problem is you can't separate KP's on field actions with his off field actions.

From a raw numbers standpoint, he would improve the South African team on paper. However, given the number of bridges he has already burned and all the baggage he brings with him, I can't see he plays international cricket again, whether it be for England or South Africa. That is a shame as he is an incredibly talented player and fantastic to watch.

With all the controversy that follows him, sometimes it is easy to forget just how good he is. Of the 114 players to have appeared in 30+ T20I's, KP's average (37.93) is fourth best all time and his strike rate (141.51) is 11th best.

It's all a moot point anyway, as he would be 37 by the time he is eligible to play for South Africa and 39 come the next World Cup.