Kevin Pietersen omitted from England squads

Pietersen has retracted the decision to retire from all forms of international limited-overs cricket (Getty Images)

England's team director Andy Flower was non-committal over Kevin Pietersen's international future this morning.

Pietersen has been unsurprisingly been omitted from the limited-overs series against South Africa as well as the ICC World Twenty20, which gets under way in Sri Lanka next month.

The 32-year-old was the player of the tournament as England won the competition in 2010, but was dropped for the final Investec Test against South Africa after admitting sending "provocative" text messages to members of the Proteas team.

And Flower has mirrored Test captain Andrew Strauss' sentiments that several issues need to be addressed before Pietersen can return to the dressing room.

"It's a very sad situation for everyone involved," Flower told Sky Sports News. "He played superbly in our last Twenty20 World Cup but the circumstances that exist at the moment mean that he can't be selected for us.

"There are still issues unresolved and we will be addressing those issues when we have time to do so.

"Let me just be clear, this is not just an issue between the captain and Kevin. There are deeper issues. Certainly the issues of trust and mutual respect need to be addressed, there are unresolved issues that have reared their heads in the last few weeks.

"And those issues have to be resolved before there is any way forward.

"You resolve these issues face-to-face with people, not through agents or PR agencies, and if this issue is going to be resolved that's how it is going to have to be.

"There are always issues coming up, it's part of what makes the job very interesting and Andrew Strauss and I have worked very closely and very well together over the years and we'll continue to do so over this issue."

PA