Steve Waugh says Pietersen 'has no one to blame but himself' for England sacking

Former Australian captain Steve Waugh has said that sacked England batsman Kevin Pietersen is lying in a bed of his own making as he has no one to blame but himself for the acrimonious fall out that ended his England career following the Ashes tour.

Pietersen is now set for the T20 bandwagon with the Indian Premier League next month, and Waugh thinks even though the star batsman was not as good as he once was, he will miss the quality and prestige of international cricket now that it has been taken away.

According to the Mirror, Waugh said that he believes it was the right time for Pietersen to exit the England team as he had enough strikes against him, adding that he had a choice in how his career could have ended and has now made his bed.

Waugh further said that Pietersen's texting South African players against his former captain Andrew Strauss in 2009 was enough for most players to never play again, although he added that when a player is the best in the world, he can get away with doing some of the things Pietersen did.

However, Waugh said that he believes Pietersen was no longer among the top ten batsmen in the world and was also not buying into the team ethic or culture, adding that he ran out of chances to redeem himself for England.

Waugh further said that even though Pietersen would be on the money-making T20 tour, he would miss playing against the best in international cricket and would not get the same satisfaction playing the shorter form of the game.