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    "title": "Kevin Pietersen slams decision to drop Ian Bell as 'pathetic'",
    "lang": "en",
    "series": "68",
    "cup_year": "2015",
    "article_type": "General",
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    "editor1": "<p><strong>London, November &nbsp;19 <\/strong>- &nbsp;Exiled England batsman Kevin Pietersen on Thursday slammed the national selectors for their decision to drop experienced Ian Bell from the Test cricket squad, terming it as &quot;pathetic&quot;.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Bell was a surprise omission from the squad for the forthcoming tour of South Africa starting on December 26. Bell, the eighth highest run-scorer in England&#39;s Test history, averaged just over 30 in the recent series with Pakistan, and has not scored a century since July last year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Pietersen, who has been out in the international cold since January 2014, says the selectors have made a serious mistake in overlooking one of their most experienced batsman ahead of what will be a tough tour against the world No 1 Test nation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&quot;I&#39;m actually sitting here very, very, very annoyed. How can you take somebody who has played over 100 Test matches -- and you&#39;ve got the biggest Test series of the year coming up, against the No.1 side in the world -- and drop him, leave him out of the tour,&rdquo; Pietersen said in a video posted on Twitter.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&ldquo;I mean it&#39;s absolutely ridiculous. I understand people who say &#39;he might have not scored some runs in a while&#39;. But you are going to play South Africa, in South Africa against one of the best bowling attacks that has bowled over the last few years,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Pietersen says right-handed Bell is being treated differently from skipper Alastair Cook.&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>England&#39;s selectors stuck by Cook despite a barren spell with the bat in which the opener failed to reach three figures in nearly two years, between May 2013 and May 2015.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&ldquo;You have to take him (Bell) because of his experience. You just have to take him. You cannot drop him before this. If he doesn&#39;t score runs after South Africa then maybe I could sort of understand it. But I just do not understand the thinking behind this,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&ldquo;Captain Cook himself, he can go two years without scoring a Test hundred but he can play every single game. &#39;Belly&#39; struggles a little bit, his last hundred nine or ten Tests ago, but he&#39;s not good enough to get on the South Africa tour,&rdquo; Pietersen said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>(IANS)<\/p>\r\n",
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    "created": "2015-11-19 17:55:00",
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