Pietersen to Return for New Zealand T20

London: England batsman Kevin Pietersen is poised for a return to international cricket in the second Twenty20 match against New Zealand after a long lay-off with injury, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Thursday.

The ECB named a 14-man squad for the two-match series at The Oval in London on June 25 and 27, with Middlesex's Eoin Morgan captaining the side.

Pietersen is regarded as the most talented batsman in the England set-up and has scored 7,499 runs, including 22 hundreds, in 94 Tests at an impressive average of 49.01.

In T20 internationals, he has scored 1,176 runs at an average of 37.93.

England's squad includes two players yet to play for their country in any format: Yorkshire batsman Gary Ballance and Warwickshire quick Boyd Rankin.

England squad:
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex, capt)
Gary Ballance (Yorkshire)
Ravi Bopara (Essex)
Danny Briggs (Hampshire)
Jos Buttler (Somerset, wicketkeeper)
Jade Dernbach (Surrey)
Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire)
Michael Lumb (Nottinghamshire)
Kevin Pietersen (Surrey)
Boyd Rankin (Warwickshire)
Ben Stokes (Durham)
James Tredwell (Kent)
Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)
Luke Wright (Sussex)

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