Cook says Pietersen's axing from England squad took 'lot of guts and consideration'

England Test captain Alastair Cook has said that it took a lot of 'guts and consideration' on the team's part to send controversial batsman Kevin Pietersen to an international exile.

Cook was part of a three-man England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) panel who told the South Africa-born batsman and England's all-time leading run-scorer across all formats of their decision after the team's Ashes disaster.

According to the BBC, Cook however, believes that England's dressing room would be stronger without the batsman, adding that as the team culture and unity is very important, the sacking of Pietersen was obviously a big decision.

The report mentioned that Pietersen scored 8,181 runs at an average of 47.28 in 104 Tests, in addition to 4,440 runs in 136 one-day internationals and 1,176 runs in 37 Twenty20s.

Meanwhile, Cook has pledged to work with the new head coach to restore England's fortunes after a disappointing winter, including Ashes defeat and an early World Twenty20 exit in Bangladesh, saying that they have to regroup now as they are facing the start of a new era.