Saturday 20 December 2014 10:17, UK
Kevin Pietersen has paid tribute to England's prospective one-day captain Eoin Morgan and revealed he hopes to play under him one day.
Sky sources revealed on Friday afternoon that Alastair Cook is to be removed as captain of England's 50-over side and replaced by Morgan ahead of the World Cup - a move due to be confirmed at an ECB press conference on Saturday morning.
Pietersen, who was sacked by England after falling out with the England heirarchy during the Ashes whitewash last winter, has been a vocal critic of Cook on Twitter but he was quick to congratulate Morgan on his promotion on Friday evening, tweeting: "Great news that @Eoin16 is new England 1-day captain. Top player, leader and bloke. Hope I get to play for him."
Pietersen is currently playing for Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League and looked in good touch in their opening defeat to Adelaide on Thursday, making 66 from 46 balls.
His good form and Cook's removal from the one-day team has led some to speculate that Pietersen could return to the England fold ahead of the World Cup - which begins in Australia and New Zealand in February - with Pietersen apparently keen for the chance to add to his nine ODI centuries.
Morgan will join Pietersen in the Big Bash League with the Sydney Thunder and said in October that Pietersen's absence from the international stage was "unbelievable."
“I think it is unbelievable in a way, because certainly he could still be playing cricket for England quite easily,” he said. “It is sad in a way to think that probably the best cricketer I have ever played with is not playing [internationally] any more.
“A guy I have had huge respect for, for a very long time and learnt a huge amount from isn’t playing probably as much as he should be. But it is tournaments like the Big Bash that will benefit from that and I think everybody will see a different side to Kevin than they normally would."
