On the eve of his duel with fellow big-hitter Chris Gayle in tomorrow's Melbourne Big Bash League derby, Pietersen lamented the dwindling interest in Tests among kids.
"Something has to be done for Test cricket to survive, because I know first-hand, having coached kids from all around the world about a month ago with my foundation in Dubai, that they've got no interest in Test cricket. None," said Pietersen after arriving back in Melbourne from England.
"The ICC controls world cricket and they should say: 'Right, we need Gayle, we need even (Kieron) Pollard, we need (Darren) Sammy, we need (Dwayne) Bravo, we need Andre Russell'. Andre Russell is bowling at 150km/h, whacking big sixes in the Big Bash. He should be doing that in a Test match, he shouldn't be doing it here," Pietersen was quoted as saying by 'Sydney Morning Herald'.
"It's just a sad state of affairs that these guys here, who are star attractions all around the world and they command big numbers from T20 franchises, it's just sad they're not playing the longer form of the game.