Sangakkara bats for 'match-winner' KP to be reinstated into England team

Sri Lanka batting legend Kumar Sangakkara has lavished praise on his new Surrey team mate Kevin Pietersen, describing the sacked England batsman as a 'match-winner', who should be reinstated into the national squad for the 'good of country's cricket'.

Pietersen, a veteran of 104 Test and 136 one-day caps for England, has been out of the national squad since his central contract was cancelled 13 months ago by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) following the team's Ashes washout by Australia.

Pietersen made a promising start in his bid to make an international comeback as he smashed 170 for Surrey against Oxford MCCU last week.

Sangakkara, who scored four centuries in a trot during the recently concluded World Cup, believes that both Pietersen and England should amicably sort out their differences for the good of country's cricket.

The left-hander batsman insisted that Pietersen has just shown a lot of courage to withdraw from the IPL, to come over and do the hard yards for his county.

Describing Pietersen as an 'absolute match-winner', Sangakkara said that it is not just talent as he has converted the talent into great performances and has been a match-winner for England, the Mirror reported.

Sangakkara added that there is so much the exiled batsman could offer the side, insisting that his presence in the side - his ability with the bat, his run scoring - would enable England to go to the stage higher.