Strauss admits poor handling of KP saga but maintains IPL can't gain precedence over Test cricket

Former England captain Andrew Strauss admitted that he didn't handle Kevin Pietersen well during his time at the helm as the flamboyant batsman should have been given some space despite not exactly adhering to the team ethos.

However, Strauss maintained that while he understands why IPL is necessary for players, he still doesn't agree that one should play the cash-rich Indian Premier League at the cost of Test cricket as it would set a dangerous precedent.

Strauss and Pietersen had a major fallout due to their difference of opinion with regards to ECB policy on IPL.

"I always had sympathy with KP over the IPL," Strauss said on a Sky Sports podcast.

"I understood what a big event it was with all the best players playing there together and huge amounts of money on the table as well."
"Long term my view was that we had to find a window for the IPL. I told the ECB we couldn't compete against each other as it is going to create massive issues within our team."
"I was saying to KP at the time, 'listen, mate, this is the situation. You can't opt in or out of international cricket. You've got obligations to England and hopefully there are gaps where you can play in the IPL as well'."
"Often KP wanted to be the guy who was slightly separate from the team. On any given day it didn't feel like an issue but over time it became an issue."
"Would I do things massively differently if I had my time again? Probably not. The worst thing you can do for players like KP is to straitjacket them and say 'you have to abide by x, y and z. You can't go and play in a flamboyant way, you have to grind it out like Jonathan Trott'."
"Effectively you'd be asking him to be someone he's not, so you had to cut him some slack and allow him to be himself."
"We were all tired, emotional and had spent so much time in each other's pockets. Probably if we had a bit more space to think clearly it might not have got to that stage and we might have managed it better."