The way Joe Denly was handled was atrocious: Kevin Pietersen

Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen slammed the England team management for dropping Joe Denly for the second Test versus the West Indies, stating that the way Denly was handled was truly atrocious.

Joe Denly made scores of 18 and 29 in the first Test and was unable to make his starts count in both the innings.

Kevin Pietersen mentioned that Joe Denly was an attacking batsman and that it was completely unfair on the team management's part to ask the right-handed batsmen to curb his attacking instincts.

"The way that Joe Denly has been treated over the last two years, being told by senior management to just try and face 100 balls, is atrocious. I saw what Denly did in the Big Bash a couple of seasons ago. He turned up and started whacking everybody all around Australia. The guys at my team, Melbourne Stars, couldn't believe what they were seeing," Kevin Pietersen wrote for 'BetWay'.

'Joe Denly can play every shot'

Joe Denly only started playing Test cricket for England in 2018 but enjoyed a limited-overs with the Three Lions alongside Kevin Pietersen.

Thus, having spent time with the batsman, Pietersen felt that the England team management needed to back Joe Denly and give him the freedom to play his natural game.

"I'd definitely like to see him be given the opportunity to go out and bat freely. If that doesn't work then he's not good enough for Test-match cricket. Good night. But you can't tell him to change his ways, just face 100 balls, and then drop him because he doesn't do it. It's truly abysmal," Kevin Pietersen stated.

Kevin Pietersen also opined on the aspects that led to England's loss in the first Test against the West Indies. While many had portrayed Stuart Broad's absence as the primary factor, Kevin Pietersen blamed the hosts' fragile batting line-up, shedding light on England's inability to post scores of 400+ runs on a regular basis.