KP saga 'a tragedy of errors', David Gower says

David Gower says Alastair Cook's loss of faith in Kevin Pietersen is the most telling aspect of a saga which has become "a tragedy of errors".

Pietersen's international career appears dead after he was told this week he would not be considered for England's upcoming series against New Zealand or Australia.

That call came from the ECB's new director of cricket Andrew Strauss, who has personal history with Pietersen and cited "trust issues" as the reason for omitting England's leading run-scorer.

Pietersen was first exiled in 2012 after sending text messages about Strauss to South Africa players, but he was recalled to the side for a tour of India later that year once Cook had replaced Strauss as captain.

The fallout from last year's dismal Ashes tour saw him dropped again and, according to Gower, Cook's lack of support for Pietersen was a key moment in a story he says has left him "weary" and "cynical" and contains countless mistakes on both sides.

To be led down a garden path to find an iron gate padlocked, bolted and secured for all time at the end of garden is not fair in many ways.

The former England captain told Sky Sports News HQ: "Let's face it, Alastair Cook was the man who brought him back into the team in India, and he got the right result there with runs from Pietersen and a series win - hard won in India, I can tell you.

"So it was working well at that stage, and somehow between then and the end of the Ashes Cook, who had been a great supporter, says 'actually, I can do without him'.

"That to me is the most telling thing. None of us are in the dressing-room, we can guess and speculate but no more than that. Those are the guys that know it and if Alastair Cook, for instance, says 'actually, I can do without him', that's quite telling."

Gower does have sympathy with Pietersen, though, calling his 2014 sacking "mishandled - simple as that" and claiming he was misled badly when incoming ECB chairman Colin Graves suggested there was a route back to the Test team.

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Pietersen cut back his IPL duties and returned to Surrey, scoring the first triple-hundred of his career hours before a scheduled meeting with Strauss, who told him there would be no recall and instead offered a role advising on England's one-day strategy.

"There was only ever going to be one answer there," Gower said. "Kevin has done a lot to get back and he feels suitably miffed, which i can understand.

"To be led down a garden path to find an iron gate padlocked, bolted and secured for all time at the end of garden is not fair in many ways."