Former England batter Kevin Pietersen has stirred up a major online debate or a conversation in the cricket world with his recent social media post. He said that batting in modern cricket is significantly easier than it was 20-25 years ago. While he did not name any current players directly, the timing of his remarks and the reference to modern bowlers have led many fans to assume that it could be linked to Joe Root’s recent success with the bat and a record-breaking event.
Read the Post here: “Batting is way easier these days”
Don’t shout at me but batting these days is way easier than 20/25 years ago! Probably twice as hard back then!
Waqar, Shoaib, Akram, Mushtaq, Kumble, Srinath, Harbhajan, Donald, Pollock, Klusener, Gough, McGrath, Lee, Warne, Gillespie, Bond, Vettori, Cairns, Vaas, Murali,…
— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) July 26, 2025
In his post, Pietersen wrote: “Don’t shout at me but batting these days is way easier than 20/25 years ago! Probably twice as hard back then!
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?”
To support his statement, Pietersen mentioned top bowlers from his time or past, and later asked fans to add 10 more of that kind of bowler.
Though Pietersen didn’t mention any player by name, some fans believe the comment could be indirectly aimed at Joe Root, who is now the second-highest run scorer in Test history. Root overtook Jacques Kallis and is now chasing Sachin Tendulkar’s all-time record of 15,921 Test runs. Root’s consistency and remarkable performance in recent years have impressed fans and experts. At the same time, with this comment, Kevin has sparked a debate over the quality of bowling attacks in the modern era, with critics arguing that current bowlers do not pose the same challenges as those from the 1990s and early 2000s.
Mixed Reactions from Fans
Pietersen’s post drew mixed reactions from fans and experts. Some agreed with his viewpoint, acknowledging that legendary bowlers like McGrath, Warne, Murali, and Shoaib Akhtar made life significantly harder for batters in the past, while some questioned his intentions behind the post. A few even hinted that he is jealous of Root climbing up the run charts, a record Pietersen himself once seemed destined to chase before retiring in 2014 with over 8000 Test runs.
One User replied:
“If it’s so easy, then why aren’t other players scoring like Root? Where are the others with 11,000+ Test runs? While another wrote,
“You can’t compare eras. Conditions, formats, workload, and team strategies have all changed. That doesn’t mean the modern players don’t face challenges.
Others offered constructive remarks and filled up for the actual question, Kevin asked, naming current bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Mitchell Starc as examples of great talent.
