Former England captain and newly appointed white-ball ‘specialist mentor’ Kevin Pietersen joined the team’s training camp ahead of the T20I series opener against Sri Lanka at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on Tuesday (Sep 15). Pietersen was back donning England’s training jersey for the first time in 12 years, since his last international appearance in 2014. England also named their playing XI for the first T20I, handing a debut cap to opener Aneurin Donald.&nbsp;Seamer Sonny Baker and all-rounder Jamie Overton returned to the XI, with Harry Brook leading the T20I side.<h3>England’s Playing XI for 1st T20I vs Sri Lanka –</h3>Aneurin Donald, Jos Buttler (wk), Harry Brook (captain), Jordan Cox, Tom Banton, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Josh Tongue, Sonny Baker and Adil Rashid&nbsp;Meanwhile, all eyes were on Pietersen as the four-time Ashes winner assumed his new role with England Cricket, offering his experience and guidance to the white-ball teams. Wearing England’s traditional training sweatshirt and shorts, KP was seen spending time with the head coach Brendon McCullum, Brook and other team players, bonding over net sessions.&nbsp;McCullum, whom Pietersen had criticised for his dressing room antics during the away tour of India in 2025, has put all that chatter behind him and opened his arms to welcome KP to the setup. McCullum wants KP to challenge him to bring the best out of the group. McCullum said Pietersen brings a fresh energy to the camp, adding that the squad stands to gain immensely from his presence.&nbsp;Also read| <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/steve-smith-eyes-la28-olympics-uncertain-2027-ashes-england-1789399039416">‘Eyes on LA28; unsure about Ashes 2027’: Steve Smith on his international cricket future</a>&nbsp;"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!” McCullum said, revealing details of his conversation with KP regarding his return to England Cricket. "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's fine.&nbsp;"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.&nbsp;"I don't 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,” the New Zealander continued.&nbsp;"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.&nbsp;"They are attributes we would love to rub off onto our players. It is great to be able to add a resource like that, and I only see an upside.&nbsp;"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,” McCullum said of Pietersen.

Kevin Pietersen joins England's training camp as specialist mentor ahead of the 1st T20I vs Sri Lanka, while hosts hand a debut cap to Aneurin Donald.

Former England captain and newly appointed white-ball ‘specialist mentor’ Kevin Pietersen joined the team’s training camp ahead of the T20I series opener against Sri Lanka at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on Tuesday (Sep 15). Pietersen was back donning England’s training jersey for the first time in 12 years, since his last international appearance in 2014. England also named their playing XI for the first T20I, handing a debut cap to opener Aneurin Donald. Seamer Sonny Baker and all-rounder Jamie Overton returned to the XI, with Harry Brook leading the T20I side. England’s Playing XI for 1st T20I vs Sri Lanka – Aneurin Donald, Jos Buttler (wk), Harry Brook (captain), Jordan Cox, Tom Banton, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Josh Tongue, Sonny Baker and Adil Rashid Meanwhile, all eyes were on Pietersen as the four-time Ashes winner assumed his new role with England Cricket, offering his experience and guidance to the white-ball teams. Wearing England’s traditional training sweatshirt and shorts, KP was seen spending time with the head coach Brendon McCullum, Brook and other team players, bonding over net sessions. McCullum, whom Pietersen had criticised for his dressing room antics during the away tour of India in 2025, has put all that chatter behind him and opened his arms to welcome KP to the setup. McCullum wants KP to challenge him to bring the best out of the group. McCullum said Pietersen brings a fresh energy to the camp, adding that the squad stands to gain immensely from his presence. Also read| ‘Eyes on LA28; unsure about Ashes 2027’: Steve Smith on his international cricket future "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!” McCullum said, revealing details of his conversation with KP regarding his return to England Cricket. "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's 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 don't 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,” the New Zealander continued. "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. "They are attributes we would love to rub off onto our 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,” McCullum said of Pietersen.

Kevin Pietersen joins England's training camp as specialist mentor ahead of the 1st T20I vs Sri Lanka, while hosts hand a debut cap to Aneurin Donald.

Kevin Pietersen joins England training camp as hosts reveal XI for 1st T20I vs Sri Lanka

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Kevin Pietersen joins England training camp as hosts reveal XI for 1st T20I vs Sri Lanka