LONDON - England batsman Kevin Pietersen has retired from all international one-day and T20 cricket with immediate effect.“With the intensity of the international schedule and the increasing demands on my body, approaching 32, I think it is the right time to step aside and let the next generation of players come through to gain experience for the ICC World Cup in 2015,” he said.An equivocal ECB statement said: “The ECB is disappointed by the timing of Kevin’s decision less than four months before we defend our ICC World Twenty20 title.”His future in Test cricket is not affected by the decision.Pietersen’s aggressive batting style made him a fixture for England in limited-overs cricket, although the 31-year-old’s ODI form had dipped for a lengthy period. Pietersen had strongly denied that he was prepared to retire in 2011 after the World Cup, and continued to play for another year. His last two ODI innings earlier this year against Pakistan, saw him score his eighth and ninth centuries for England.His decision to quit the 50-over format came at the expense of his T20 place because of England selection rules. Pietersen has played 127 ODIs for England since his 2004 debut, scoring 4184 runs at an average of 41.84.In T20s, he scored 1176 runs at 37.93, and was player of the tournament in England’s T20 World Cup triumph in 2010.
