England cricket fans may be divided over the wisdom of bringing Kevin Pietersen back into the fold but their Indian counterparts, it would seem, have no such1 reservations. Pietersen has always maintained that his talents are most appreciated in India, and, to judge from the local reaction to his reinstatement, he is right.
As Alastair Cook's men faced India A in Mumbai yesterday there was no mistaking who the main box-office draw was within the England dressing room. Or who the Indians most feared. "The maverick Kevin Pietersen, England's best player of spin, can only boost England's chances," wrote the Hindustan Times, echoing a sentiment widely held on the subcontinent where the soap opera of Pietersen's exile and rehabilitation into the national team has been followed with interest.
"I don't think Indians particularly care what Andrew Strauss, or the English cricket establishment, thinks of KP," Ayaz Memon, one of India's leading cricket writers, told The Daily Telegraph. "His star appeal should see him over that hump. Indian fans see him as a spectacular strokeplayer, although he will have to make a lot more runs to be clubbed in the category of a Ricky Ponting, or, in the past, Viv Richards."
Pietersen's appeal here clearly resides in his status as a swashbuckling entertainer. In a country for whom the Indian Premier League has become an expression of a rapidly emerging middle class - prizing the virtues of celebrity, wealth and showmanship - Pietersen has star quality. His knocks for the Delhi Daredevils, who pay him a reported $1million (pounds 620?million per season, may not have put him in the very top bracket, but he is still England's biggest draw.
"He is big. Not as big as Sachin Tendulkar or MS Dhoni, obviously," Memon said. "Not even as big a draw as Chris Gayle, who has won over the country with his exploits in the IPL and T20 cricket. KP's been more of a showpony than a showman, if you get what I mean, because he hasn't done enough even in the IPL. As of now, he can't guarantee bums on seats. Even for Delhi Daredevils, Sehwag is still the biggest star.
"But his commentary stint during the T20 World Championship appears to have endeared him with Indian fans. Rubbing shoulders with Dravid and Ganguly put him in the big league where Indians are concerned. He also came across as a guy with not just pithy analysis, but also fun; ready to dance 'Gangnam Style' with Gayle in the studio. Such spectacles always appeal to Indian fans." There remains a snobbishness, even within a fan base so in thrall to entertainment.
"Let's classify Indian cricket fans into two kinds," said K Shriniwas Rao, a cricket writer with the Times of India. "One that really loves to follow cricket. For them, Pietersen is not the only reason why they're excited about the Test series. Cook, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott and Matt Prior - they're all equally important.
"In fact, you'll be surprised at the following Cook may have here. Indians probably see him as one of the batsmen likely to come closest to Sachin's Test record. People do remember he got a century on debut in India. They tend to remember those kind of things.
"Then there are the star-gazers. They love idol-worship and the bigger the name, the more likely you'll see them rushing to the ground. They'll be everywhere - at hotels, near the team bus, at practice, at matches. For them, KP is exciting because he's not only a good cricketer but an exciting one, who hits the fours and sixes - basically, entertains - and is always in the news, regardless of the reasons. The cricketer's ability alone is not the priority, it's the package. And KP's a package like nobody else in this England team."
Ultimately, Rao added, money talks in professional cricket, nowhere more so than India, the richest market of all. "Star TV [News Corp] pays approx Rs 42 crore (roughly pounds 7.5?million) per match to the BCCI for broadcast rights," he said. "Which means, the India-England series alone, Test, ODIs and T20s, can be billed at around Rs 450 crore [more than $100?million]. Now, on a balance sheet, if you had to show pounds 62?million as expense on one side, where's the money coming in from? England have Pietersen and men in the business of cricket feel he sells in India. It's only natural the ECB invited him back for this tour. There are a lot of tickets to shift."
There may well have been a hard commercial basis for bringing Pietersen back so swiftly, but in pure sporting terms, too, Indians consider it a no-brainer.
"Personally, I think his inclusion should send the alarm bells ringing in the Indian cricket establishment," Memon concluded. "Pietersen is an aggressive player, ready to take the battle to the opponents. He is the player who seems best equipped - in strokes and attitude - to take on the Indian spinners on turning pitches and could be the match winner England are seeking so badly."
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