Kevin Pietersen, the <i>Fortunato</i>

Writing for NewStatesman, Ed Smith profiles Kevin Pietersen, narrates his personal experiences with him, and wonders if people will miss him now that he is banished from the team.

I have never seen any batsman impose his willpower as Pietersen could. Where Sachin Tendulkar was a genius of skill, Pietersen is a genius of self-belief. His confidence and desire filled the whole arena, relegating the other players to the status of pawns. He could be gauche and socially awkward, but that doesn't explain why people took against him. There was something more innately domineering about Pietersen, a quality that transcended language or manners, as though he could succeed only by putting other people down.