Pietersen’s declaration ends hopes of World T20 spot

Pietersen, 31, has found himself at the centre of several awkward situations since making his England debut in 2004 but this is arguably the most serious, ending the limited-overs career of the country’s most natural ball-striker and bankable star.

Pietersen himself made the decision to withdraw from 50-over cricket but the real intrigue lies in the ECB’s decision to effectively retire him from the shorter format against his will.

Pietersen, man of the tournament when England won the World Twenty20 in the West Indies two years ago, wanted to spearhead the defence of that crown in Sri Lanka later this year but that offer was declined by the board.

They have decided that centrally contracted players must make themselves available for both limited-overs formats or neither and, with no compromise possible, it was announced that Pietersen would continue as a Test specialist only.

It means Pietersen, who has 127 ODIs and 36 T20 caps to his name, departs the scene having hit back-to-back centuries in his last two one-day appearances against Pakistan.

Announcing the news, Pietersen said: “After a great deal of thought and deliberation, I am today announcing my retirement from international one-day cricket.

“With the intensity of the international schedule and the increasing demands on my body, approaching 32, I think it is the right time to step aside and let the next generation of players come through to gain experience for the ICC World Cup in 2015.

“I am immensely proud of my achievements in the one-day game, and still wish to be considered for selection for England in Test cricket.

“For the record, were the selection criteria not in place, I would have readily played for England in the upcoming ICC World Twenty20.”

England cricket’s managing director Hugh Morris offered the ECB’s take on events.

He put on record the organisations thanks for Pietersen’s efforts – which yielded 4184 runs at 41.84 in ODI cricket and 1,176 runs at 37.93 in the 20-overs game – but added: “ECB is disappointed by the timing of Kevin’s decision less than four months before we defend our ICC World Twenty20 title.”