Kevin Pietersen believes there is "no obvious choice" to replace Joe Root as England 's Test captain and there will be "issues" for anyone who takes on the role.
Root announced on Friday that he had decided to step down after five years as skipper. It comes in the wake of a dismal Ashes series in Australia, and a record of just one victory in the team's last 17 Tests.
Root's personal form has remained strong, but in his resignation statement the Yorkshire batter spoke of the "toll" the captaincy had taken on him. His optimistic final line read: "I look forward to helping the next captain, my teammates and coaches in whatever way I can."
Ahead of a busy summer of Test cricket, there is a need to install his replacement fairly swiftly so they can be comfortable in the role before New Zealand turn up at Lord's at the start of June. Pietersen, who himself had a brief spell as captain in his playing days, is worried over the lack of viable options.
Ben Stokes is one of the names that has been floated, and would be a popular choice among fans after becoming the team's talisman in recent years. But, after the all-rounder took a lengthy break from the sport last year, Pietersen is wary that there is already enough pressure on him.
"In terms of captains, there doesn’t seem to be an obvious choice," the 41-year-old told Betway. "Stokes may be the leading candidate as an experienced player who will surely start the summer in the side, but he is already English cricket’s Superman. There are issues with every other name that you could think of."
Pietersen also spoke highly of Root and suggested that his team would have been much more successful in recent times were it not for a "faulty system". He added: "It's a sad day for English cricket that a player, team-mate and person as good as Joe Root has had to make this decision.
"Root is one of England's greatest ever batters, arguably the greatest. Perhaps even more importantly, he is exactly the kind of person who should have succeeded as England captain. I'm incredibly disappointed that somebody of his ilk has had to stand down when he's been let down by his superiors.
"The demise of the England Test team is not Joe Root's fault. The issue is at the ECB with the administrators. The system is faulty. There have been times during Root's captaincy when it looked like he might be onto something. They won 3-1 in South Africa just over two years ago and then won back-to-back series at home in the summer of 2020.
"Ultimately, though, for all the good work he was doing behind the scenes, the calibre of player that the system was producing was never going to be enough for his captaincy to be a success."
