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Pietersen's absence not an issue: Broad

Last Updated 15 September 2012, 16:11 IST

 England captain Stuart Broad may have thought travelling to Sri Lanka for the World Twenty 20 would offer respite from the Kevin Pietersen saga but it dominated his first news conference.

Pietersen has been frozen out of the England set-up since allegedly sending “provocative” text messages about his own team-mates to players in the South Africa side last month.

Even at a distance of 9,000 km from home the controversy surrounding the 32-year-old batsman continues to stalk Broad and his players as they prepare to defend their title.
The England skipper was bombarded with the words “Kevin Pietersen” as he faced his first question from the media on Friday and the topic is unlikely to go away anytime soon.

Broad tried to bat away the issue diplomatically, reminding reporters that England had started planning for life after Pietersen several months ago.

  The South African-born batsman had announced his retirement from limited overs cricket earlier this year before making himself available again in August. “It was the second of June when KP retired from the one-day and Twenty20 format so we have had a bit of time to plan without him,” Broad said of the player.

“We've been planning for a while, and the 15 guys who are here are really excited to be here and have the opportunity to represent England in a ‘World Cup’.

“That's what you want, and it's an extremely proud moment to lead those guys on to the field of play.”

Broad was confident his squad, including eight of the triumphant 2010 team, will produce the kind of performance that will make fans back home forget about the Pietersen affair.

England begin their title defence in Colombo with Group C games against Afghanistan on Sept 21 and India two days later.

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(Published 15 September 2012, 16:11 IST)

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