Pietersen rues missing out chance of playing at Eden

International Cricket Council had scrapped the India-England tie on February 27 at the Eden Gardens, saying that the stadium was unprepared for the match and Pietersen rued that he would not be playing there.

"It's disappointing, I've never played at Eden Gardens. I never played against the Knight Riders last year in the IPL away. It's one of those venues that you really want to play at during your career, especially against India," said Pietersen.

"We had a really lucky draw with them in Kolkata. Unfortunately, it has been moved, there's nothing we can do about it. It might work to our advantage not having so many Indians screaming against us," he was quoted as saying by Press Association.

The former England captain played down the significance of the current one-day series against Australia on his side's preparations for the World Cup starting on February 19.
"I'm not sure how pivotal these matches will be for the World Cup because conditions will be totally different," he said.

"I think the first week in the sub-continent when we start to get used to the conditions and the make-up of our side, having a full-strength team out - that's going to be really crucial."