England's Pietersen decision will put intense pressure on Cook and Strauss, says Rahul Dravid

England skipper Alastair Cook and his former teammate Andrew Strauss will face intense pressure during the upcoming Ashes battle with Australia over the decision to ignore the claims of Kevin Pietersen for a Test recall, former India captain Rahul Dravid said today. “It was strange and disappointing to see Pietersen being told he will not be given an opportunity to play for England. This decision will bring more pressure on Cook and (new England director of cricket) Strauss during the (July-August) Ashes,” said Dravid. [caption id=“attachment_2244438” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Dravid and Pietersen. Getty Images[/caption] “If England win the Ashes, then it will be fine, but if they lose this (episode) is not going to die down,” the Rajasthan Royals team mentor said at the launch of a new social initiative aimed at empowering the girl child. Pietersen was told by Strauss hours after cracking an unbeaten triple hundred for Surrey in a county game that he will not be considered for England in the immediate future. The player, sacked in 2013 after the 5-0 whitewash of England in Australia, had been told earlier by the England and Wales Board’s chairman Colin Graves to ignore IPL riches and prove his worth in English county cricket for a Test recall. Former England woman cricketer of Indian origin, Isa Guha, saw “miscommunication” from both sides. “It has not been handled well by both sides. There has been a miscommunication. But I would love KP to play for England,” said Guha who is doing TV commentary in the IPL. “It (Pietersen saga) has been going on for 2-3 years. There is a lot of baggage there. They (ECB and team) seem to have decided to move on. It’s sad there is so much focus on KP though there are fine young players like Joe Root, Garry Ballance and others. “Like Rahul said, it will put a lot of pressure on England. I just hope English cricket can come out on the other side,” said the 29-year-old Buckinghamshire-born Isa. For their initiative ‘Bat for the Girl Child’, Royals have pledged 2 per cent of the annual profits of the company for the current financial year towards the cause. Two NGOs, Educate Girls and Aaangan, are beneficiaries of the funding while Royals have tied up with British Asian Trust as the social cause’s implementation partner. Citing Virender Sehwag’s example, Dravid said that the out-of-favour opener played in the same manner across all formats. “Viru plays the same way in all formats,” Dravid said. Dravid said players like De Villiers and New Zealand skipper McCullum possess the gift of adapting their game in varied formats as per the needs. “In Test cricket, the wicket conditions are different. There are situations when you have to bat to save the game. Both De Villiers and Brendon McCullum are able to adapt their game to the different formats which is what great players do,” he explained. Asked whether he would prefer an Indian or a foreigner to become the new coach of the national team following the exit of Zimbabwean Duncan Fletcher, Dravid said the person’s nationality did not matter. “The world is becoming more professional with passage of time. Indians go abroad to take up coaching jobs and similarly foreign nationals come to India for the same reason. Whoever is the most suitable for the job should be given the chance (to coach India),” he said. PTI