New Delhi, July 26 (IANS) Former England batter Kevin Pietersen has sparked a new debate after stating that batting these days is way easier than it was 20-25 years ago, questioning the quality of modern-day bowlers.

Pietersen shared his thoughts on social media a day after fellow England batter Joe Root surpassed Australian legend Ricky Ponting to move into second place on the all-time list of Test run-scorers.

Pietersen, who represented England in 104 Tests, 136 ODIs, and 37 T20Is between 2005 and 2013, remarked that batting was “twice as hard” back then.

“Don’t shout at me but batting these days is way easier than 20/25 years ago! Probably twice as hard back then!,” Pietersen wrote on X on Saturday.

The former England star named a host of bowlers of the past era, including India’s Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh and Javagal Srinath and asked for naming 10 modern-day bowlers of their stature.

“Waqar, Shoaib, Akram, Mushtaq, Kumble, Srinath, Harbhajan, Donald, Pollock, Klusener, Gough, McGrath, Lee, Warne, Gillespie, Bond, Vettori, Cairns, Vaas, Murali, Curtley, Courtney and the list could go on and on… I’ve named 22 above. Please name me 10 modern day bowlers that can compare to the names above?”

Pietersen, who finished as the sixth highest Test run-scorer for England with 8,181 runs at an average of 47.28, including 23 centuries and 35 fifties, indicated that comparing current batters to the former legends doesn’t reflect well on the part of sport, as the conditions were different for them.

Root’s masterful innings, which powered England to 544 for 7 and a commanding 186-run lead over India, was a showcase of elegant strokeplay and composure. His century – 38th in Test cricket – moved him into joint-fourth on the all-time hundreds list alongside Kumar Sangakkara.

In the process, Root surpassed Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, and Ricky Ponting to become the second-highest run-scorer in Test history, behind only Sachin Tendulkar.

–IANS

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