Should Kevin Pietersen Be Dropped from England After Another Batting Failure?

Kevin Pietersen has failed with the bat again in Bangladesh, prompting calls from some fans for him to be axed from the England side.

KP has averaged under 10 whilst on tour in Bangladesh, a statistic that has led to worries that he has lost his touch for England.

He has been guaranteed a place in the team ever since his Test debut in the 2005 Ashes, but his alarming dip in form has added to the growing murmurs from England supporters that he should be dropped for the first Test on Friday.

It has been a year since Pietersen’s last international century, against West Indies, and he has been getting out playing some extremely questionable shots when under pressure.

He has shown particular weakness against left-arm spinners and, with Bangladesh’s bowling attack made up almost entirely of slow bowlers, he has given the England selectors a real headache ahead of the Test series commencing this week.

Pietersen has always been England's most naturally gifted player; the man who attempts shots no other would. The player who brutally implemented the switch-hit. The man who teamed up with Andrew Flintoff to give England one of the most feared middle orders in world cricket.

But all that is in the past. Is it time for the selectors to send him back to the counties to get some more time in the middle?

It certainly worked for Andrew Strauss. After a torrid time opening for England in 2007, when he got himself out playing one hopeless pull shot after another, he was dropped from the side and told to re-find his form. And boy did he.

After a break from international cricket, Strauss came back better than ever. He has flourished since his return, become England’s most reliable run scorer and a key part of the side.

Question marks still surround whether this method would work with KP. Would Pietersen’s character would accept such a knock, would he come back stronger as a result and is it even right to try to rein in his instincts?

It is Kevin Pietersen’s style to attack bowlers and try the big shots no matter what the situation is. It is his greatest strength and his greatest weakness; he strikes fear into bowlers but can also throw his wicket away trying to be too aggressive.

England should and probably will persist with Pietersen for now. But if he becomes too much of a liability, it won’t be about changing his nature but finding someone else who fits better into the side.