Don’t give Stokes the burden of captaincy – Pietersen

FORMER England batsman Kevin Pietersen does not think Ben Stokes should take the Test captaincy if Joe Root is forced to miss a game against the West Indies.

Root’s wife is due to give birth in July, putting the skipper at risk of missing one of the three behindclosed-doors Tests with the Windies next month.

Root has said he would back Stokes, pictured, to do a good job in his absence, but Pietersen is wary about the mercurial all-rounder assuming even more responsibility.

The three-times Ashes winner was speaking from experience, having not enjoyed his short stint as captain in 2008, and would prefer Jos Buttler to take over.

“Do I want to see Ben Stokes change from who he is and the current player he is? Probably not, Jos Buttler would be my guy,” he told talkSPORT.

“The entertainers and the guys that have to carry the mantle in the team sometimes aren’t the best captains and sometimes struggle with the extra added pressure.

“As a player you are looked at completely differently until that phone call comes and you are announced as the Test captain.

“Responsibilities change, communication changes, the way in which you carry yourself in the dressing room changes.

“I struggled with it, I absolutely hated it and I was rubbish. You have to change and I couldn’t command the respect of the dressing room, you say something and it is frowned upon, it is a completely different story.”

England begin their summer of cricket on July 8 with the first of three Tests against the West Indies.

Further matches against Pakistan, Australia and Ireland are all pencilled in, but they are all likely to be played in front of empty stadiums.