Kevin Pietersen: Joe Root says England ‘very different’ from 2014

“That’s who he is as a person,” Root said. “When you attract someone, you want them to be themselves, and you want them to come into the environment for a reason.

“With his experience, knowledge of the game and everything he has to offer, I think he will be great.

“You’re looking at so many hypothetical things that could go wrong when there are so many amazing things he’ll bring to this environment. The world is a very different place to what it was in 2014 and the England team is in a very different place too.”

Only Root and Cook scored more for England than Pietersen’s 13,779.

Pietersen will join Brendon McCullum’s side for the white-ball series against Sri Lanka next week and Root spoke about the work the pair did together when the Yorkshireman was a young player.

“He’s always given me a huge amount, to be honest,” said Root, who made his England debut aged 21 in 2012.

“He didn’t have to offer as much as I did, but he sat and worked tirelessly, making sure I felt comfortable in my game. He listened to all my questions and helped in any way he could. As a senior player, he was outstanding.”

Root will lead England in the third and final Test against Pakistan on Wednesday as the home team look for a clean 3-0 win in the 35-year-old’s first series since returning as captain.

As in the previous two Tests, Root refused to confirm his squad ahead of the draw, although the home team is not expected to change.

With England winning the second Test at Lord’s, debate has arisen over ticket prices for next summer’s home Ashes.

At Edgbaston, the site of this week’s Test, Ashes tickets for the famous Hollies Stand will cost £165, compared with £125 for the same stand for the series against Australia in 2023.

“I don’t know what it takes to run a county or a venue, I don’t know what it takes,” Root said. “From a playing point of view and as captain, you want the stadium to be full and you want it to be full of people from all age groups.

“You want the game to be for everyone so they can come and support you and enjoy it. Honestly, I don’t even know what else to say about this. It would be great to see this place full and thriving and for everyone to have the opportunity to come and watch Test cricket.”

Under Root’s predecessor Ben Stokes, England developed a habit of starting Test series well but finishing them poorly. England have lost the final Test in their last six back-to-back series.

Root admitted that only the Birmingham win changed that record and also strongly defended Stokes and former Test coach McCullum.

“We couldn’t have played these last two games without all the work those two did,” he said. “I think we underestimate the impact these two guys have had on English cricket.

“You look at where we have been and how we have played our cricket, you look at how we have been able to perform in the last two games, a lot of it is down to hard work and how they have changed the mentality in English cricket and in this team.

“I’m not going to sit here and compare the two, I don’t think that’s fair at all. They deserve a lot of credit for their last two performances.”