Former England cricket captain Kevin Pietersen took to social media on Friday to congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi on securing a third consecutive term. Pietersen posted his message in Hindi on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Bharat ka netritva karne ke liye ek aur karyakaal hasil karne ke liye @Narendramodi ko bahut-bahut badhai. Mai jab bhi Bharat ata hun, desh behtar se behtar hota jata hai. Kya shandar kaam hai, sir, Shubkamnain aur dher sara pyar --KP," he wrote.
Roughly translated, this means, "Many congratulations on securing another term to lead India @narendramodi. Every time I come to India, the country keeps getting better and better. What a great job, sir! Best wishes and lots of love."
Pietersen's post included a photo of him shaking hands with Prime Minister Modi, though the date of the photograph was not specified.
Pietersen, now 43 years old, was born in South Africa where he learned to play cricket before making his Test debut for England on July 21, 2005, against Australia.
His last Test match was played in 2014 against Australia. Overall in his career, he has made 104 appearances in the longest format for England, scoring 8181 runs at an average of 47.28 including 23 centuries and 35 half-centuries, his best being 227.
Besides his Test career, Pietersen also played ODIs and T20Is for England and played for franchises around the world. In the Indian Premier League, he played for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), and Rising Pune Supergiant in 2018.
With his retirement from franchise cricket, Pietersen ventured into commentary. He was a frequent traveler to India, wherein he worked with a couple of broadcasters.
