Eoin Morgan defends genius Kevin Pietersen over England axe
EOIN MORGAN has defended axed England genius Kevin Pietersen - insisting: He's a pleasure to play with.
Pietersen played 104 Tests and more than 150 limited-overs games for England before he was shown the door by the ECB earlier this year.
They cited a need to rebuild "team ethic and philosophy" after Andy Flower resigned but Morgan has insisted that KP was NOT a disruptive influence.
Morgan said: "We chat cricket all the time. I've learned a huge amount from Kevin.
"I pick his brain. I'm good friends with him. He always helps me. I still talk to him all the time.
"He's been very supportive to me since I've got in the side.
"He's a guy that you bat with and gain a lot of confidence from watching from the far end
I pick his brain. I'm good friends with him. He always helps me. I still talk to him all the time
"He's a type of guy that plays a shot and you go 'woah'. Everyone in the field drops and it gives you a huge boost batting in a line-up with him in it.
"I've loved playing with him - he's been a pleasure to play with.
"He works really hard at his game and was a great example for me coming through to learn off."
Asked whether he could sympathise with the Pietersen supporters, the Twenty20 vice-captain admitted: "A little bit, yeah, i can. But again there's not a lot you can do."
Eoin Morgan was speaking ahead of the start of the NatWest T20 Blast season. Blast off is May 16, tickets can be purchased from www.ecb.co.uk/natwestt20blast