Durham – England one-day captain Alastair Cook has warned that no player is guaranteed a place in his side after Kevin Pietersen was rested for the forthcoming series against India.
Cook will be without flamboyant batsman Pietersen when he leads England into battle in a five-match limited overs series against India, which starts in Durham on Saturday.
Pietersen played a full part in England's 4-0 rout of India in the recent Test series and also featured in the Twenty20 victory over the tourists earlier this week.
But he has been left out of the India one-day matches and reports on Friday suggested he could also be excluded for the one-day tour to Asia, which would raise serious questions about his place in England's 50-over plans as they build towards the 2015 World Cup.
Cook insisted Pietersen, who has scored just two one-day half-centuries in the past two years, had only been left out due to England's rotation policy, but he did warn that no-one was safe as the selectors look to find a winning formula.
“KP is a world-class player. We said with the management of players he has been rested for this series,” Cook said on Friday.
“He's part of the programme to rest players who are involved in all three formats of the game.
“There is no guarantee for anything, because we haven't had that selection meeting for India.”
Asked if he would prefer someone like Pietersen in his team, Cook repeated: “There's no guarantee for anything.”
In Pietersen's absence, 20-year-old Ben Stokes has been called into the squad to help fill the hard-hitting role.
The Durham all-rounder has proven a match-winner at county level and Cook admitted England would look to rest their regulars to allow them to have a look at the likes of Stokes as they begin their World Cup planning.
“It's a great chance as a side to do that,” Cook said. “We've got four years until the World Cup. You want to win every game that you play.
“There is always an eye on when we do arrive in four years' time that we have a settled and experienced squad that can cope with those conditions.”
Meanwhile, England could be without spinner Graeme Swann for Saturday's game as he struggles with a stomach bug.
Swann took his career-best one-day figures of five for 28 at Durham two years ago against Australia, and Cook said a decision on his fitness would be made early on Saturday.
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