London, Jan 9 (IANS) Newly-appointed England captain Andrew Strauss Friday said he has the support of Kevin Pietersen.
Strauss was appointed the captain after Pietersen resigned dramatically Wednesday having lost a battle of brinkmanship with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) over his differences with coach Peter Moores. The coach also lost his job.
Strauss has spoken to Pietersen, who returned from his holiday in South Africa Thursday and is said by friends to be shattered at losing the captaincy.
'KP has been very supportive so far,' Strauss was quoted as saying by Daily Telegraph.
'Clearly, it is a tough situation for him and I am sure he has his own side of the story. But I believe very strongly that he did what he felt was in the best interests of the England team as captain and I have no problems with him as a player.'
'He (Pietersen) felt he was doing what was right, said Strauss. You don't know how many people felt exactly as he did but it was what his view was. He took those actions because he felt it was the right thing to do and as I said before that is Kevin Pietersen as a person and I personally don't think he should be vilified.'
Strauss will hold his first meeting with the selectors Friday as England Test captain and will make his case to be the leader of the 50-over team as well.
Strauss has not played a one-day international for 18 months but has ambitions to unify the two biggest captaincy jobs in English cricket.
The ECB are expected to announce a new interim coaching team soon and decide whether to add Strauss to the one-day squad for the tour to the West Indies, after leaving him out of the original line-up.
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