England's white-ball head coach Brendon McCullum has appointed former batter Kevin Pietersen as a specialist mentor, a role Pietersen will undertake until the 50-over World Cup next autumn. McCullum expressed a clear intention for Pietersen to challenge the team's methods and overall operations, viewing such scrutiny as healthy for the team environment.
"It's healthy when you create an environment where you're able to challenge," McCullum told BBC Sport. "That's one thing I want him to do. It's not just bury himself in the batting per se, but look across the entire environment, look across how we run things and what we do, and if there's anything you pick up then just come and challenge me on it."
McCullum stated that Pietersen, who previously criticized England players during the tour of India last year, was enthusiastic about the prospect of joining the team. "The energy he's brought to the group already has been immense," McCullum added. "He was obviously a brilliant cricketer. He viewed the game quite differently. He was a winner and he was a guy who left no stone unturned when it came to his preparation."
Pietersen joined the squad prior to the first of three T20s and three ODIs against Sri Lanka. England is set to debut Derbyshire opener Aneurin Donald in the first T20, with Phil Salt sidelined due to injury. Pace bowler Jofra Archer has been rested, but Josh Tongue is included in the squad.
McCullum's responsibilities are now solely focused on the white-ball side after his tenure as Test coach concluded. He and newly appointed Test coach Stephen Fleming will manage player workloads, particularly in preparation for the upcoming Ashes series against Australia and the World Cup. "We've already been chatting around how we're going to try and manage some of the workloads of players and make sure we still get our best players available for the big series," McCullum said. "You're going to have to work out times that you can take them out of the physical duties of international cricket, freshen up, and then other times that you have them all ready to go."
McCullum also addressed player conduct, stating his agreement with Test captain Joe Root's sentiment regarding off-field issues. He aims for the white-ball team to be the "fittest, strongest, most dynamic, most robust cricket team in the world." McCullum indicated that players must commit to team objectives, or opportunities will be given to others. He specifically mentioned that seamer Brydon Carse needs to "get his house in order" to work his way back into contention for the national team.