Match-fixers should be banned for life says Kevin Pietersen

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen has slammed cricketers who get involved in activities like match and spot fixing saying that they should be banned for life.

Pietersen is presently enjoying doing commentary in the Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia and is also playing for the Melbourne Stars.

“It really pisses me off when I see people taking the short cuts.I ‘ve never taken shortcuts in training, and when people start taking shortcuts for a little bit of cash, it annoys me, Sport24 quoted Pietersen, as saying.

In a recent event, he was being asked questions related to the corruption in the sport after a report came out in a newspaper as to how young cricketers were being approached by illegal bookmakers through a social media.

Pietersen said that there will always be threats of corruption surrounding cricket, but believes it may reduce with players now receiving education regarding the rules and risks. He, however, believes despite this education if someone gets involved in scams then he should be handed a life ban.

“They always give the players all the information they need, they tell them all the stories, they talk about how approaches are, they talk about everything that goes on with it,” he said.

“If you’re one of those players who gets approached, and you make the stupid decision to go down the wrong avenue, you’ve just got to belt them away from cricket.

Because it really irritates me, it annoys me,” Pietersen said.

Pietersen, later revealed that he never had any requests from bookmakers but added he knows how things work because of his close association with the T20 Challenge in South Africa.

“I’ve never been approached, never seen it. I’ve heard stories, I’ve heard how they approach and how they go at stuff in the past couple of weeks,” he added.

The now 36-year-old made his debut for England way back in 2004. Since then he has featured in 104 Tests and 136 One-Day Internationals. He has scored 8181 Test runs at an average of 47.28, while in ODIs 4440 runs at an average of 40.73.

His last Test in an England shirt was in 2014, after that he had a fallout with the England and Wales cricket board and since then has not played any international cricket.

But Pietersen is never afraid to speak his heart out. A day back he tried to convince Australia’s national selector Mark Waugh to pick Glenn Maxwell.

"He can bat at six, he can give you a few overs of off spin and get you some wickets and his fielding is phenomenal - he's a freak show in the field," Pietersen said.

"Give him a run (batting) at six and he will change the game."