Southampton [UK], September 14 : England white-ball coach Brendon McCullum has said that he wants the team's newly-appointed specialist mentor and former cricketer Kevin Pietersen to "challenge" him privately on ways the team can improve and do things differently, as he starts his stint from the white-ball series against Sri Lanka starting this week.
The former England legend, who cracked 13.797 runs in 277 international matches, including 32 centuries for England from 2004 to 2014 and played a crucial role in their T20 World Cup 2010 triumph with a 'Player of the Tournament' worthy performance, will start his stint as team's specialist mentor till 2027 ODI World Cup and will work with them in most of the series starting with the home Sri Lanka assignment, starting from Tuesday with first T20I at Southampton. The series will feature three T20Is and ODIs.  
Speaking to reporters as quoted by Sky Sports, McCullum said,  "When I rang him and asked whether he would be interested in coming and working with England, I think he thought I was joking for a start! He mentioned that he has been quite critical of us in the past and I said, 'I have no problem with that, mate'. There are parts I might agree with and parts I might not agree with and that is fine."
"The way he looks at the game is quite different to a lot of people and if someone can see something different and point that out to help you to become better, then I see that as no bad thing. Kev will do that and I have encouraged him to do that. I do not want him to be buried in one specific skillset - I want him to look across the set-up and challenge me privately on ways we can improve and do things differently," he added. 
Previously, Pietersen had been critical of England's performance in the white-ball tour to India in early 2025 in build up to the ICC Champions Trophy that year, where the Three Lions had lost both ODIs and T20I legs of the series. The legendary batter had slammed the team for their alleged lack of preparation for challenging Indian conditions which favoured spin.   
McCullum was full of praise for Pietersen, saying that he has an "incredible pedigree" as a player and a lot of current team members grew up watching and idolising him. 
"He is one of those guys where he has so much in his life so for him to give up those things to focus on trying to help us to get to the level we want and challenge for World Cups, we are incredibly lucky. Kev was an unbelievable player and a winner. He left no stone unturned with his preparation. He believed in himself in those big moments and more often than not performed in those moments. He is a big personality and fiercely competitive," he said.
The England white-ball coach said that he would really like if Pietersen's attributes rub-off onto the players. 
"It is great to be able to add a resource like that and I only see an upside. He has brought a ton of energy to the set-up within the last 24 hours. His work ethic is second to none and when he is in on something, he is all in. I am super excited to have him, he is excited and the boys are buzzing," he signed off.