James Whitaker claims KP 'not part' of England's plans to end hopes of recall

Despite his vow to do anything to earn a recall in the national side, sacked England batsman Kevin Pietersen has been told that he is not 'part' of the team's plans by selector James Whitaker.

Pietersen had revealed that he was determined to regain his place in the England side and planned to play county cricket this summer, but hours after his revelation, Whitaker said that England had moved on since the batsman's sacking in February 2014.

Whitaker said that they haven't had discussions at all about Pietersen, who was sacked by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in the fallout of the 5-0 Ashes whitewash by Australia, the BBC reported.

However, the former batsman was told his international career might not be over just last month by incoming ECB chairman Colin Graves, who has said that the player could return for England if he scored heavily in domestic cricket.

Whitaker, however, appeared to distance himself from Graves as he talked up the calibre of the current Test side.

Whitaker, after naming England's 16-man squad for the West Indies tour next month, claimed that he knows Graves very well, and the incoming ECB boss is entitled to his opinion, but he added that Pietersen isn't part of their plans.

The national selector said that they have been developing their team for a year in Test match cricket, adding that they have had some good conversations about what happened after the end of Australia.

He said that they have produced some good middle-order players, with Gary Ballance, Joe Root and Ian Bell continuing to perform well, so they are happy with where they are in the middle order.