Reports: Alastair Cook threatened to quit international cricket if Kevin Pietersen was brought back

Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen during the 2013-14 Ashes

According to the Daily Mirror, Alastair Cook and a host of members in the English cricket team’s backroom staff had informed higher authorities that they would quit if Kevin Pietersen was brought back into the English team. Cook had threatened to quit not only from his role as captain, but also retire from international cricket.

England’s new director of cricket Andrew Strauss, on Tuesday, had said that there is no way Pietersen could return to the national team this summer due to “trust issues”. Strauss took full responsibility for the decision and faced severe criticism, with #StraussLogic even trending on Twitter.

I see the head boy is making English cricket the laughing stock again! #StraussLogic

— Graeme Smith (@GraemeSmith49) May 12, 2015

It now seems that the former Test opening batsman made the call because of added pressure from other sources. Cook is said to gone to the extent of giving a ‘us or him’ ultimatum to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

“There are people who would absolutely have walked away rather than deal with Kevin again. He has made life incredibly difficult for a large number of people over the years and the idea that he might be back horrified them,” a source told the Mirror.

Speaking to the media for the first time since his appointment, Strauss had said: "Now is the time for some really honest and open conversation about Kevin Pietersen. No one has ever doubted his ability as a batsman or as a cricket player.

“Over the months and years the trust has eroded it is not in the best short-term interests of the side for Kevin Pietersen to be in the team this summer but he is not banned from the side. At the moment we are quite estranged. This is not about Kevin Pietersen it is about the future of English cricket. My job is to develop a side that is capable of winning matches over the next four years,"