Recalling sacked Kevin Pietersen could “tear apart the fabric” of the England team because the batsman is like a child who wants to get his own way, according to former Australia coach John Buchanan.
Pietersen, sacked in February 2014 following England’s 5-0 Ashes whitewash in Australia, joined Surrey on Wednesday in an attempt to earn an international recall after receiving encouragement from new English cricket chief Colin Graves.
But Buchanan, who won three Ashes and two World Cups as Australia coach from 1999 to 2007, believes the ECB must stick to their original decision.
“A decision was made for good reasons,” Buchanan told the BBC. “Leadership is about sticking by that decision.
“Various things have torn at the fabric of the England team and that has certainly been one of them.
“There has been a clear decision made by the ECB about where Pietersen fits in the English camp. Let them stick by the decision, draw that line in the sand and say this is what we really stand for.”
Pietersen, who scored 8,181 runs in 104 tests, has spoken with incoming England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Graves about his return, but national selector James Whitaker said last week the South African-born batsman was not in their plans.
“You will always have people like Pietersen that are game changers and they are usually difficult to handle because they are quite selfish,” Buchanan said.
“It’s like when you are a parent with a child. The child doesn’t get his way from mum so then he goes to dad and asks dad.
“And if he still doesn’t get the answer then he plays both of them off against each other. If he doesn’t get his own way he certainly causes a bit of mayhem in the meantime.”
Buchanan also said under-pressure England coach Peter Moores should remain in charge for this year’s Ashes series despite a dismal showing at the World Cup in which they were knocked out in the group stage.
“He needs to be judged not just on results because there will be a number of things he is doing behind the scenes that the public don’t see,” Buchanan said.
“He needs to be given time and support. Then let’s sit back and watch that unfold and then see how he and the team perform.”
