ECB chief says 'disinterested' KP got axed as almost everyone wanted him to go

Managing director of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), Paul Downton, has said that the board pulled the plug on 'disinterested' Kevin Pietersen's international career because no one wanted him to stay in the side.

Downton said that one of the huge issues after England's Ashes wipeout in Australia had been what the ECB would do about Pietersen, even though the batsman had been their leading run scorer, albeit with just 294 runs at 29.4.

According to Sport24, Downton said that he watched every ball of the Sydney Test live and added that he has never seen anyone as disinterested or distracted as Pietersen.

The former England wicketkeeper said that he talked to every person on the management team and quite a few senior players, and he could not find one supporter who wanted Pietersen to stay in the side, the accusations being that the batsman had too many agendas and was not 100 percent focused on playing for the national team.

Downton further said that he is not saying that everything that happened in Australia was down to Pietersen, but there is no smoking gun as the decision was in the best interest of English cricket.

The South Africa-born batsman, who is England's leading run scorer across all formats, was sensationally sacked from the national set-up following the team's 5-0 Ashes series loss in Australia.