KP is 'a guy who commands huge respect' for Morgan

England batsman Eoin Morgan has said that his former teammate Kevin Pietersen is a guy who commands huge respect and believes that the strength of the national cricket team in the wake of the ousted batsman's autobiography would be measured by the way in which the team performs at the World Cup.

Morgan said that Pietersen, for him, is a guy who commands huge respect, a guy he would always remember for the performances he put in and the experience he provided him when the Irish-born batsman first came into the side.

Morgan also said that Pietersen was very welcoming and he spent a lot of time with the ousted England star, learning from him. He added that Pietersen would always remain like that in his eyes regardless of what's come out, Stuff.co.nz reported.

While the Irish-born batsman would not validate Pietersen's claim that a culture of bullying existed in the England team under former coach Andy Flower, he insisted that his adopted country had been afforded every opportunity to succeed in the World Cup next year at Australia and New Zealand with an unprecedented focus on ODI cricket.

Morgan said that he could not recall Pietersen's 'bullying' claim that the England bowling attack demanded on-field apologies from any fielder who dropped a catch.

He said that he thinks it is absolutely a happy dressing room. Morgan said that it is a changing time for English cricket given that new coach Peter Moores hasn't had a lot of time in the job.

The middle-order batsman added that Moores is a coach that brings a lot of energy and new ideas to a team that's very young and inexperienced and only time will tell if they are successful or not.