England white-ball coach Brendon McCullum wants to be “challenged” by white-ball mentor Kevin Pietersen, and he has “no problem” with his previous criticism of the team as well. However, Pietersen will work with England for most of the series up to and including the 2027 World Cup, starting with the three T20Is and three ODIs at home against Sri Lanka as well.

Speaking ahead of Tuesday’s opening T20 in Southampton, McCullum said it was his decision to bring Pietersen in the coaching team and hopes his “big personality” will help the players as well.

He told reporters: “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! 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,” he again shared.

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Brendon McCullum continued: “The beauty of Kev coming in is that he has an incredible pedigree as a player – a lot of our players grew up watching and idolising him when he was in his pomp as a player. He is one of those guys where he has so much in his life so for him to give up those things to focus on trying to help us to get to the level we want and challenge for World Cups, we are incredibly lucky.”

“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. I am super excited to have him, he is excited and the boys are buzzing,” he further added.

When he was asked whether he had not been questioned much by his other coaches, McCullum said: “That is the perception but the reality is that we are always challenging each other. I just wanted to add someone of Kev’s stature as we look to become one of the best teams in T20 and one-day international cricket.”

However, Fleming replaced McCullum as England Test coach in August but did not oversee the 3-0 sweep of Pakistan as well, as Marcus Trescothick was in interim charge for that series as well. Notably, Stephen Fleming’s first series as England Test coach will be in South Africa this winter as well. Stephen Fleming’s first series as England Test coach will be in South Africa this winter as well in South Africa where they will play a three-Test series.

McCullum added: “We have a big schedule with an Ashes and World Cup to aim for down the line but also big series coming up. We want to make sure we have access as often as possible to the best players across the formats and be aware of workloads as well. There is a bit to pick over but we will get there.”

“The timing is perfect [for Fleming to be Test coach] and the team will respond to his style and his approach. He is a brilliant man, coach and tactician. He will do a brilliant job and I look forward to working collaboratively with him across the formats and getting the best for all three forms,” Brendon McCullum concluded.