Pietersen faces long road back

Without Pietersen, England have called up two uncapped batsmen – Joe Root and Nick Compton – to help fill the vacancies left not only by him but by the retirement of former captain Andrew Strauss.

Pietersen responded by releasing a statement, via his agents, to clarify his position after a summer of contract wrangles which culminated in his omission from both the Lord's Test and then England's squad which will imminently defend the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.

It read: "Kevin Pietersen is naturally disappointed about today's decision, having gone to great lengths to reach a reconciliation with the ECB."

In it, he also sought to set the record straight over the "provocative" text messages he sent to opposition South Africa players during the Headingley Test – in which there were allegations he made "derogatory" references to Strauss.

The statement continued: "Pietersen has met with – and apologised to – Andrew Strauss. He has also met with Alastair Cook to stress his commitment to England and met with ECB board members, including face-to-face meetings with Hugh Morris, David Collier and Andy Flower, prior to his departure to Sri Lanka.

"At all times, Pietersen had wished his dealings with the ECB to remain private so as not to inflame an already difficult situation. His recent silence was not an admission of any wrong-doing; he wanted to explain and apologise to the ECB for the messages exchanged with members of the South African team.

"He has also made absolutely clear both to the ECB and the England team that – despite unsubstantiated allegations to the contrary and repeated media speculation – he did not offer any tactical advice to the South Africans. Pietersen remains available for England."

National selector Geoff Miller explained the reasons for Pietersen's continued absence from England's plans under coach Flower and new captain Cook, stressing he and his colleagues can only make their decisions based on information received from management.

When that starting point was that Pietersen remained unavailable, as far as his employers were concerned Miller and his panel had no choice. "We are just the selectors – they let us know it [issues with Pietersen] hasn't been resolved," he said.

Like Pietersen, Miller, too, is frustrated that England's most gifted batsman will not be there to assist the team on one of its toughest tours.

"It is disappointing – he is a world-class player but it is about a team game and I can't keep going on about that point," he said. "You want to take your best players but he wasn't available – we have to move on with other players."

Miller left open the possibility that Pietersen may still have a future with England. "He might do; we will wait and see," he said. "He could do – it depends on when those issues are resolved.

"This is not a Kevin Pietersen issue. This is about an England side going out to India on a tough tour."

Morris corroborated the national selector's explanations. "Both ECB and England team management have had meetings with Kevin Pietersen to address the issues which led to his omission from the final Investec Test match against South Africa," he said in an ECB statement.

"These discussions remain private and confidential – and as there are issues still to be resolved, Kevin has not been considered for selection for the India tour."

Miller has spoken to Pietersen in person to explain why he was omitted. He said: "I told him exactly why he hasn't been selected and explained this. We had a chat and that remains private.

"He's one of the best players in the world and he has shown that on many an occasion. It is not just about an individual in a changing room; it is a team ethic and unity."

Those qualities have been stressed throughout by Flower, and Strauss, too.

It is understood England are not impressed by Pietersen's decision to work as a broadcast pundit in Sri Lanka during the ICC World Twenty, where Stuart Broad's team will begin their campaign against Afghanistan on Friday. Pietersen was set for his first shift in Colombo last night to offer his thoughts on the opening match between the hosts and Zimbabwe. He was invited to comment as he made his way to the studios, but declined to do so.

In Pietersen's absence on the pitch in India, there may be opportunities for Root and Compton. The young Yorkshireman, who spent last winter in India with the England development squad, hopes that experience could prove useful.

He said: "I am really looking forward to being a part of it. If opportunities arise then fantastic. I will be working really hard to put a case forward for myself. Obviously, I spent the winter in India and a lot of teams struggle out there and that experience last winter will be definitely useful if I am called upon."

The England squad is also notable for the inclusion of slow left-armers Monty Panesar and Samit Patel as the extra spin options to complement Graeme Swann.

Like Root, Compton also has experience of Indian conditions from the England Lions squad and performance programme and is relishing his chance to return with the senior side. The grandson of legendary England batsman Denis Compton, said: "For any aspiring international cricketer, going to India is a great opportunity. It was my grandfather's favourite place to tour and I'm no different – I've been there five or six times and it's an amazing place."

The Somerset batsman was previously tipped for a call-up after a stunning start to the season in which only bad light prevented him reaching 1000 first-class runs before the end of May. He added: "It was disappointing [to be overlooked] but I did believe the chance would come again if I could keep scoring consistently. I'm proud I managed to do that all season.

"There was a newspaper article the other day that didn't mention my grand-father and it was one of the first times, and I thought 'wow, I've made it on my own now'."