Kevin Pietersen's England return creates full-circle twist 12 years after controversial sacking

Kevin Pietersen will make a sensational England return in a mentoring role ahead of the 2027 World Cup - and it means he has gone full circle from the beginning of his career.

Pietersen, who was controversially sacked by the ECB after the dismal 2013/14 Ashes tour of Australia, will work with the England team as part of Brendon McCullum's white ball set-up.

In a statement, the ECB noted Pietersen's roots in South Africa - he was born and raised there before moving to England at the age of 19 - were a reason behind his appointment, with the World Cup due to take place in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Why Kevin Pietersen is back now - and what it means for England

The ECB statement continued: "Pietersen will join up with Brendon McCullum's white ball teams for the forthcoming IT20 and ODI series against Sri Lanka later this month, joining a coaching team which will also include Marcus Trescothick, Tim Southee, Jeetan Patel and Sarah Taylor.

"He will also be involved in this winter's white ball tours to Australia and South Africa, before joining up with the teams again for the home series against Pakistan and New Zealand next summer, as well as the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup."

Pietersen was born in the South African city of Pietermaritzburg to an English mother, meaning he was eligible to play for England when the time arrived.

He played first-class cricket for KwaZulu-Natal, but decided in 2000 that he would move to England. In 2006, he said he was dropped because of the racial quota system that was in place in South Africa.

"I was dropped because the quota system was brought into South African cricket to positively discriminate in favour of 'players of colour' and to fast-track the racial integration of cricket in the country," he wrote in his book, 'Crossing the Boundary'.

"To me, every single person in this world needs to be treated exactly the same and that should have included me, as a promising 20-year-old cricketer. If you do well you should play on merit. That goes for any person of any colour. It was heartbreaking."

He was convinced to join Nottinghamshire by former South Africa all-rounder Clive Rice, who was a coach at the club. Once he served a mandatory four-year qualifying period, Pietersen was quickly selected by England in 2004.

While Pietersen's local knowledge will undoubtedly help England, his pedigree as one of their all-time greatest batters across three formats will not have hindered him.

In 136 ODIs, Pietersen hit 4,440 runs at an average of 40.73, including nine centuries, at a strike rate of 86.58. He was, at the time of his sacking, the fourth-highest ODI run scorer in English cricket history, behind Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell and Alec Stewart, though has since been overtaken by Joe Root, Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler.

Why Kevin Pietersen was 'sacked' by the ECB

Pietersen's unanimous sacking by the ECB in early 2014 went down as one of the more divisive decisions made in the history of English cricket.

He played a decisive role in England's 2005 Ashes win in what his debut Test series, having established himself in the 50-over side in the previous six months.

Early on the final day of the series at The Oval, and with England holding a perilous 73-run lead, with seven wickets in hand, Pietersen strode to the wicket and smashed 158 off 187 balls to shut down any hopes Australia had of retaining the urn.

It was an innings that arguably changed the way cricket is played forever, with a fearless Pietersen repeatedly hooking and pulling the express pace of Brett Lee over the boundary, and slog-sweeping the legendary Shane Warne.

Eight-and-a-half years later, Pietersen's England career was unceremoniously ended, with the ECB stating they wanted to 'rebuild team ethic and philosophy'.

Pietersen was England's highest run-scorer as Australia won 5-0 but the manner of his dismissals was questioned - even though the imperious Mitchell Johnson repeatedly tore through the batting lineup on sight throughout the series.

The fallout was seismic. Pietersen himself remained silent for months until he released his autobiography in October, where wicket-keeper Matt Prior, coach Andy Flower and captain Alastair Cook bore the brunt of his criticism.

He revealed that Cook was in the room when the ECB chief executive Paul Downton told him he had been left out of the squad for the 2015 T20 World Cup, and offered no objection. Pietersen never played for England again.

Pietersen was told in early 2015 by new ECB chairman Colin Graves that an international return could be possible and, after a year away from English first-class cricket, he returned to his county Surrey and smashed 355 in a Division Two match against Leicestershire in May.

After that innings, ECB director of cricket Andrew Strauss - who had a frosty relationship with Pietersen, dating back to when the latter texted South Africa players criticising Strauss during a 2012 Test series - informed him that he would not be selected for upcoming matches.

Strauss said there was a 'massive trust issue' between the ECB and Pietersen.

There has been some reconciliation. After he retired from playing, Pietersen mentored England batters during their white-ball tour of South Africa in 2023, though it appeared any further connection might not happen after he criticised England's training and work in the nets under McCullum during the tour of India last year.

But the 46-year-old is now back in the fold - and could play a significant role in England's World Cup campaign.