Ousted England batsman Kevin Pietersen has been left out of Surrey's 13-man squad and will not feature in the county cricket club's final two games of the County Championship season.
Pietersen had stated in July that he would play in order to help Surrey's promotion bid in Division Two. But he has been left out of the 13-man squad to play Worcestershire at New Road, starting on Tuesday.
Pietersen tweeted that he was only going to play for Surrey if they had a realistic chance of gaining promotion, and added that now that's gone, he is not playing, The BBC reported.
Surrey director of cricket Alec Stewart said that with their hopes of promotion slim, they favoured giving younger players experience. He added that head coach Graham Ford and he himself discussed the possibility of bringing Pietersen in but realistically they have got just an outside chance of promotion.
Stewart said that it is better for the future of the club if they give the likes of an Aneesh Kapil or Arun Harinath two first-class games to gain more experience to see how they could progress, and added that that would stand them in good stead for next season.
Since being released from his central contract by the England and Wales Cricket Board in February, having been told he was no longer a part of the England team's plans, Pietersen has only played limited-overs cricket.
Pietersen also tweeted that Stewart was keen to give the young guys experience and he respects his decision, and added that England has serious talent, which has the chance to flourish.
