Kevin Pietersen out of Cricket World Cup

The England batsman will return home due to a hernia injury, while the England Cricket Board look to bring in Eoin Morgan.

Kevin Pietersen of England walks away from the rest of the team during England's Group B match against South Africa. The batsman will now leave the World Cup squad to recover ahead of the IPL.
Powered by automated translation

CHENNAI // Kevin Pietersen is to return home from England's World Cup campaign in the next 24 hours due to a hernia injury.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed the news this morning while the rest of the England squad were en route from India to Bangladesh for their next match on Friday.

It had already been confirmed that Pietersen would undergo hernia surgery after the World Cup, but he appeared laboured in the field in yesterday's win against South Africa and the England management have acted to avoid further aggravation of the problem.

________________________________________________

More

New, improved Shoaib Akhtar is good sign for Pakistan
The Irish are becoming the talk of town at the World Cup
High five for Yuvraj as India see through Ireland threat in World Cup

England beat South Africa in low-scoring thriller
Points table

________________________________________________

The ECB have applied to the ICC to call up Eoin Morgan as Pietersen's replacement in the squad.

Pietersen's injury was discovered after the recent one-day series in Australia and it had been hoped England's medical staff would be able to nurse the problem through the remainder of the World Cup.

Speaking on Saturday, Pietersen said: "I'm obviously extremely disappointed to have picked up this hernia injury.

"It will no doubt impact my preparation but careful management should see me still play a significant role in the team's campaign."

But Pietersen complained of soreness after bowling eight overs in the victory against South Africa, while his performance with the bat in the six-run victory in Chennai gleaned just two runs.

The operation will require around six weeks of recovery, and was expected to rule the batsman out of the Indian Premier Leaguewhich is held after the World Cup.

However, should Pietersen undergo surgery in the coming days it is possible he could be fit by the end of April and therefore play some part for his IPL employers the Deccan Chargers.