Batting today is ‘way easier' than 20-25 years ago: Kevin Pietersen sparks debate on quality of modern-day Test bowlers
Pietersen's comments on his social media handle came a day after fellow England batter Joe Root overtook Australia great Ricky Ponting to climb to second place in the all-time list of Test run-scorers.
'Don't shout at me but batting these days is way easier than 20/25 years ago! Probably twice as hard back then!,' Pietersen wrote on X on Saturday.
ALSO READ | Steve Smith issues warning to England, says Ashes in Australia won't be played on 'flat' batting-friendly pitches
Pietersen, who played 104 Tests, 136 ODIs and 37 T20Is for England between 2005 and 2013, has been as flamboyant with his views as he was in the middle with the bat.
The former right-handed batter, who made 8,181 runs at 47.28 with 23 tons and 35 fifties in Test cricket, said batting was 'twice as hard back then'.
Pietersen named a host of bowlers from the past eras and challenged his readers to name 10 contemporary bowlers who can be compared with them.
'Waqar [Younis], Shoaib [Akhtar], [Wasim] Akram, [Saqlain] Mushtaq, [Anil] Kumble, [Javagal] Srinath, Harbhajan [Singh], [Allan] Donald, [Shaun] Pollock, [Lance] Klusener, [Darren] Gough, [Glenn] McGrath, [Brett] Lee, [Shane] Warne, [Jason] Gillespie, [Shane] Bond, [Daniel] Vettori, [Chris] Cairns, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Murali[tharan], Curtley [Ambrose], Courtney [Walsh] and the list could go on and on... I've named 22 above. Please name me 10 modern day bowlers that can compare to the names above?,' he added.
Root, who capitalised on a wayward Indian bowling attack to smash 150 on the third day of the Manchester Test, is now behind only Sachin Tendulkar's towering mark of 15,921 runs.
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