LONDON: In a new twist to English cricket controversy, Kevin Pietersen on Sunday alleged that he never resigned and the board did not provide him any reason as to why he was being asked to step down from captaincy.Daily Telegraph quoted a close confidant of Pietersen as saying that England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) kept him in dark about sacking Peter Moores as coach.
Pietersen said that he had held meetings during the Test matches in India with ECB chairman Giles Clarke, ECB managing director Hugh Morris and ECB chief executive David Collier and had talked about "a few names as possible new coach" with Collier and Morris.
"The last words from David Collier and Hugh Morris during the last Test match in India were for me to do a strategy plan as to how I wanted to take the English cricket team forward," Pietersen was quoted as saying in the report.
"They said we would meet again on January 8 in London. I said I would come straight from the airport so we could have it in the morning but they said come in the afternoon. On New Year's Eve, I sent the strategy email. In my email I said that I can't lead this team forward and take it to the West Indies if Peter Moores is coach."
He said his email was taken as an offer of resignation and Morris rang him and the ECB emailed him to accept it.
"I have not had any reasons for why I was asked to stand down," he said. "I was not told in the telephone conversation or the email that Peter Moores was not coach. I was told that 'your resignation' was accepted yet I had not been told he had been sacked or asked to resign."
Pietersen returned to London early on Thursday morning, whisked through Heathrow airport under police guard, to face a barrage of criticism for his part in the affair.
He is known to have been deeply shocked and upset at the reaction, believing he had done nothing wrong and now he feels utterly let down by offers.
An ECB official last night said: "We are aware of discussions between ECB officials and Kevin Pietersen before he left on holiday, but we have no knowledge of any guarantees given to him."