At 6 ft. 4inch, Delhi Daredevils skipper Kevin Pietersen is a colossal unit. His physical size is something the colourful Pietermaritzburg-born dasher has effortlessly carried over into public life and for years now, almost every action and thought of this individualistic cricketer has been the subject of close scrutiny.
Pietersen may be a divisive character love him or hate him, you cannot ignore the man but in many ways, his candour and straight talk have helped create that impression. “Truth and honesty are my core values,” he told this paper, adding, “I value them above everything else, both in life and in my cricket.”
This unwillingness to compromise made him opt out of South Africa’s cricketing system where he was an unabashed critic of the racial quota system that sometimes promoted political correctness over native talent. Born of a South African father and an English mother, Pietersen chose to relocate to England to pursue his cricket and other interests in life.
With the change in country came new passions. “Football, football and football,” says KP when asked about his interests away from cricket. “I am a die-hard Chelsea fan. I follow all their games and I train in their gym as well. Also, I’ve got a great bonding with the players as well.”
Sunday’s crucial win for Jose Mourinho’s Men in Blue over Swansea that kept them in second place in the Premiership table behind Liverpool, would, therefore, have come as a boost for Pietersen as he leads a new-look Daredevils side into battle in IPL-7 in the Gulf.
Pietersen ran into Liberty X singer Jessica Taylor on a blind date eight years ago. Not very many months later, they were married on December 29, 2007 at a county church with former England team-mate Darren Gough acting as best man.
Ask him about those times and the man who can be an immensely intimidating presence by his sheer physicality, smiles. “I meet my wife at an event on a blind date and since then I have been blind (laughs). We share a great bond and I love my family and now that I am a father, it is a different feeling all together.”
In May 2010, Jessica gave birth to the couple’s first child, Dylan. Pietersen, then touring the West Indies, dashed back from Barbados, where the England team were based and made it to Jessica’s bedside just in time. “This really is the most amazing experience of my life,” he said of the occasion.
Given the fact that he tends to spend more time in the limelight than away from it, how does he cope? “I love travelling and football, apart from my time with family and friends. I have been away from cricket lately but had some great times, spent lot of time training at the gym and practicing cricket,” he says of his exclusion from the England team in the aftermath of the Ashes disaster Down Under last winter, which again underlined the passions that swirl around him.
British Prime Minister David Cameron came out in staunch support of the dashing batsman who was given the boot by the England and Wales Cricket Board. Influential British journalist Piers Morgan, a close buddy of the cricketer, lashed out at the decision, leading Cameron to comment, “I am an enormous fan of Kevin Pietersen and I have had some of my most enjoyable times watching him tonking the ball all over the park. It is not often I have a sympathy for Piers Morgan but I thought he was making quite a powerful argument this morning on my radio.”
An even stronger endorsement came from Jessica, who took to Twitter to trash allegations against her man. “Dominic Cork there was no ‘squaring up’ to Alastair Cook or ‘off-field antics’ in Australia you are lying, plain and simple,” she Tweeted in reply to the former England fast bowler’s allegation that KP and England captain Alastair Cook were involved in a dressing room showdown in Australia.
One of KP’s most obvious physical aspect is the array of tattoos he sports, which have grown steadily over the years. They, he admits, are another passion.
“Tattoos are addiction for me. It keeps growing. All my tattoos are connected to the best things that have happened in my life,” he says with a twinkle in his eyes.
Asked how he copes with it, the pressure, the limelight, et al, Pietersen grins. “For one, I’m very easy going. And I like to laugh. A lot!”
