5 cricketers whose 'bad boy' image kept them out of the team

#1 Kevin Pietersen (England)

Pietersen’s multiple controversies eventually cost him his place in the England team

Controversy’s favourite child, Kevin Pietersen, is one of the biggest so-called bad boys that cricket has ever seen. True, he is among England’s best batsmen of all time, but his penchant for inviting trouble from time to time is what spelt his doom.

Pietersen had contorversies galore during his otherwise successful career, some of the premier ones being his sledging tactics against Graeme Smith during a Test series in 2006 and his issues in working with former England coach Peter Moores. The social media site Twitter was also one of his favourite breeding grounds for controversy as he faced stiff measures from the England Cricket Board for tweets about former English southpaw Nick Knight’s commentary and about his being axed from the ODI team in 2010.

The breaking point for Kevin Pietersen came soon after the 2013-14 Ashes series, where Australia whitewashed England 5-0. Despite being the highest run-getter for England in the series, his fallout with coach Andy Flower showed him in poor light in the eyes of the ECB. While the Zimbabwean decided to call it quits soon after the series, the board took a stand to ensure that they released all their ties with Pietersen too on 4 February 2014.

Career started - 28 November 2004, ODI debut

Last international match - 5th Test of 2013-14 Ashes Series, 3-5 January 2014