Considering Kevin Pietersen's Career Options After England Rejection

So now Kevin Pietersen knows for certain: England will not be picking him in the near future.

If incoming England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Colin Graves had left the door ajar for a Pietersen comeback in an interview with BBC Radio 5 live's Sportsweek show back in March, it was firmly slammed shut on Monday night by Andrew Strauss, the man appointed by the ECB as director of English cricket.

Graves' words suggested a return to county action, followed by a hatful of runs, could see the batsman make a stunning comeback to the international fold.

Sacked after the 5-0 Ashes whitewash suffered in Australia in the winter of 2013/14, Pietersen did exactly what was asked of him.

He negotiated his way out of a contract with Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League, rejoined Surrey and marked his fifth innings of the LV= County Championship season with a triple hundred.

It wasn't so much a gentle reminder of his talents, more a case of him declaring from the rooftops his availability through a megaphone.

Still, it wasn't enough. It turns out no matter how many runs he scored for Surrey, it wasn't going to be enough for England to have a change of heart.

Andrew Redington/Getty Images

At a press conference at Lord's on Tuesday, Strauss—along with the ECB's new chief executive, Tom Harrison—found himself answering questions on a topic that has dogged England's hierarchy for over a year.

The answer was clear: "I've let him know he's not part of our plans for the future," Strauss told Sky Sports (h/t ESPN Cricinfo's Alan Gardner).

England are willing to overlook their leading run-scorer in all forms of the game during an Ashes summer. Pietersen admitted he was "absolutely devastated" in his exclusive column for the Telegraph. In the same piece he declared he felt "deeply misled" and that he was "angry and hurt."

So what does the future hold for KP now?

While Strauss never closed the door entirely on him being selected for England again, with his 35th birthday not too far away, the South African-born right-hander must realise his career at the highest level is over.

He has experience of being in this situation before, of course, leading to him becoming a Twenty20 specialist in 2014.

His next move was set to be to the Sunrisers, who had agreed with the player that he would travel to India for the final stages of the IPL season if his franchise had a chance of making it to the knockout stages.

Hyderabad are in contention, but their plan to add Pietersen to their squad for the run-in has been dashed by a calf injury. Instead of flying to India, he is heading to Dubai for a break, per Sky Sports.

What happens after that isn't completely clear, though Sky Sports News HQ's Twitter account outlined a potential schedule for Pietersen:

He was already signed to play for the St Lucia Zouks in the Caribbean Premier League T20 competition, which starts on June 20 and runs for just over a month.

There is also another year to go on his deal with the Melbourne Stars in Australia's Big Bash too, one he is likely to now fulfil as there's little to no chance of him being part of England's touring squad to South Africa.

After that, who knows. Pietersen really has no need to continue playing for Surrey, but the county's director of cricket, Alec Stewart, hopes they have not seen the last of him. He said, per the Dorking and Leatherhead Advertiser:

"

If he still has the appetite to score runs for us, we would love to have him back.

We signed him because it would be good for us as he is very good at helping the young lads develop.

He needed us to force his way into the England team again, but now the door is shut on that.

"

That appetite will have decreased following his meeting with Strauss and Harrison.

Pietersen did play for Surrey in the English T20 competition last year, and he may feel some loyalty to continue turning out for a county that offered him the chance to play first-class cricket again at short notice.

He has been fully committed to their cause this year, and he showed his value with that astonishing knock of 355 not out against Leicestershire at the Oval.

It seems, though, he is destined to become a hired gun again—a player with a big name who will not only boost a team's scoring power but also add numbers to the crowd, as well as attract sponsors.

The only certainty for Pietersen is that he won't be playing for England this summer. He can definitely trust me on that.