Pietersen has been the talk of the cricketing fraternity in England throughout the last week, following his outburst in the press conference after the second Test match. There were widespread speculations that the star batsman had played his last Test in Headingley, but Pietersen, in a video which he released on Saturday, stated that he wanted to put things behind him and return 'unconditionally' to the England set up.
"I'm here to basically say that I'm not going anywhere. I want to commit to all forms of cricket for England, because I love playing for England."
"Money is there because we are sportsmen and we play in an era where we're fortunate enough to be financially rewarded. But money is not everything to me, scoring runs matters to me, winning matches for England matters to me. I loved the runs I scored at Headingley, I can't wait to play Strauss's 100th Test match. These things make me happy. I have got a short career in sports, so it's important to get the most of the situation. I have a young family, and I am a provider. You need to maximise your potential financially to have protection later on."
"It would have been sad to end a career like this. Sitting down with my family and friends, we've decided that I would end my career on a positive note rather than the way it's happening at the moment.
Pietersen also regretted his outburst in the press conference on Monday, saying he was 'emotional'.
"I am who I am in terms of shooting from the hip occasionally. I bat like that and sometimes speak like that. I do make mistakes, a lot of people make mistakes. The mood in the dressing room, in the last 24 hours, was sorted out. I had a long discussion with a team-mate and we went through many differences and other things. I ended the conversation a very happy bloke, and I can't wait to meet my team-mates later on."
"It would have been sad to end a career like this. Sitting down with my family and friends, we've decided that I would end my career on a positive note rather than the way it's happening at the moment.
Pietersen also regretted his outburst in the press conference on Monday, saying he was 'emotional'.
"I am who I am in terms of shooting from the hip occasionally. I bat like that and sometimes speak like that. I do make mistakes, a lot of people make mistakes. The mood in the dressing room, in the last 24 hours, was sorted out. I had a long discussion with a team-mate and we went through many differences and other things. I ended the conversation a very happy bloke, and I can't wait to meet my team-mates later on."
"I said things I probably shouldn't have said, but I don't like to look back. I'm here to clear things up."
"I want to play all 3 formats for England again, starting from the ODIs against South Africa and the World Cup T20. The selection is up to the selectors, but I want to make myself available for all 3 formats."
Pietersen had created quite a few enemies in the England set-up for wanting to play the full season of IPL next year instead of the home Tests against New Zealand, but dropped the demand and made himself available for the Test series.
"I won't be playing the full IPL next season. I will come back and play the Tests against New Zealand. My franchise, Delhi Daredevils have been very supportive and understanding."
"The IPL is a fantastic cricket league, not just for youngsters but also for experienced cricketers like me. It gave me an opportunity to work on my game; I could ring up Rahul Dravid and talk to him about playing left arm spin, I could ring up Mahela Jayawardene and talk to him about Sunil Narine before the West Indies Tests. Everybody speaks about the money in IPL, but it's a massive academy for cricketers. I have certainly become a better player after playing in the IPL."
Pietersen reiterated his desire to continue playing for England and said that he 'realised' a lot of things in the last few days.
"I've realised what's important to me, I've realised how much I love playing for England. I would hate to leave playing for England and I would hate to leave spectators and fans this way. The stubbornness that I've got at times is probably not a good thing."
"The fans are very dear to my heart. I'm here, sitting in front of all of them, saying that I'm fully committed and passionate about playing for England and that's why I want to come back to play for all three formats for England. I don't want to disappoint people."
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