Betting tips / Paul Bugeja / 01 June 2012 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market

With their batting star Kevin Pietersen retiring from the short forms of the game, Max Liu is not surprised to see England's T20 World Cup odds starting to drift.

Kevin Pietersen has retired from international limited overs cricket, a move he hopes will allow new players to emerge in time for the 2015 ICC World Cup.

In February, the England batsman said: "The 2015 World Cup is very much a target for me." However, he's had a change of heart and will now devote himself to international Test cricket.

Pietersen, who played 127 ODIs and 36 T20Is, will be a big loss. The power and panache of his batting makes him a formidable competitor in all forms of the game. In 2010, he was man of the tournament as England won the T20 World Cup in the West Indies. He is their highest run scorer in 20 over cricket.

The news that KP will not be available for England in the 2012 T20 World Cup - which takes place in Sri Lanka this autumn - has sent England's odds drifting to Betfair odds of (9.0). They have been backed as low as 5.0 behind Australia (6.2)and India (5.9).

He said: "With the intensity of the international schedule and the increasing demands on my body, approaching 32, I think it is the right time to step aside and let the next generation of players come through to gain experience for the ICC World Cup in 2015."

Pietersen was the only England batsman to be selected for the 2012 IPL,a fact which underlines his status as England's most highly-rated T20 batsman. His decision to retire from ODI and T20 international cricket means that he will be able to dedicate more time to the IPL in the next few years.