Moody backs Pietersen for England comeback

Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Tom Moody believes England "would be foolish" not to consider Kevin Pietersen "as a serious option" if he is able to prove his fitness and form in county cricket. Sunrisers had agreed to release Pietersen from the group stages of IPL 2015 to allow him to pursue his ambition of earning a recall to the England Test team.

"A player of this stature on and off the field is a big loss to any side, particularly because he had so much to prove and he had such a good Big Bash, so he is in such quality form," Moody told ESPNcricinfo from Perth. "It is disappointing but we also recognise his personal situation and I don't think we can ever step in the way of anyone's desire to want to continue, or at least pursue their international dream."

While thanking Sunrisers for their "support and understanding" in making the decision, Pietersen accepted he will need to "focus on performing domestically" to give himself the best possible chance of meriting selection again. Moody believes that a lot of "water has to pass under the bridge" before Pietersen can hope to even be considered.

"The last 12-18 months of his international career was plagued with injury," Moody said. "So he needs to prove his fitness and form. His record shows what he is capable of delivering. So you put those two things together and I think England will be foolish not to consider him as a serious option. Where he fits into the balance of their Test side is another question because their top six look quite settled at the moment.

"So things will have to happen with regard to that opening, but as we know, with our game things can happen pretty quickly. To have him eager, on the sidelines, fit and punching out runs game after game is only a positive sign for England."

Moody, who played several seasons of county cricket himself, is convinced Pietersen will be highly motivated and do "everything he possibly can" to finish some "unfinished business" with regards to his international career.

"A chapter of his international career is still left and it was cut short and any chance is good enough at that level to try and scale that mountain again," Moody said. "If it means to him that he has to go through the hard graft of building a huge amount of runs in the early part of the summer and if his opportunity doesn't come till the back end of the summer or even after that, I am sure he's prepared to give it a shot.

"I think his motivation is going to be very high, purely because he's got an agenda, which is to score as many runs as he can to make it impossible for the selectors to ignore him. It is not going to be easy, at the start of the English summer the ball can seam around a bit, it is going to be hard work for a batsman.

"Those cold mornings, getting up with three jumpers on, is not as glorious as representing an IPL team in a blockbuster Twenty20 tournament. But he has got higher things on his list to address and that is to rejuvenate his international career."

Pietersen's skirmishes with coaches in the past have been well documented. He was less than charitable towards Andy Flower in his autobiography, and in 2008 when he was captain, had a fallout with Peter Moores, leading to both men losing their jobs. In his second stint as England coach , Moores is already under pressure after England's early exit from the World Cup. Moody, who has coached several teams including Sri Lanka, believes handling players with differing personalities in a team is part of the "excitement of management."

"I think in every team you are going to have different personalities," he said. "We are all not cut out of the same cloth, that needs to be embraced. Quite often your best players are those challenging players who push the boundaries. At the end of the day that's all part of the excitement of management, to mould those contrasting personalities into a successful team."

Although Pietersen would have added muscle to the Sunrisers squad, Moody is confident there is enough batting depth available among the international recruits to tide over his loss. The presence of David Warner, who has been named captain, Eoin Morgan, Kane Williamson and Ravi Bopara makes Moody believe the team has "all bases covered" to mount a strong campaign.