Bresnan believes Pietersen will be a huge asset for England throughout the series

England pace bowler Tim Bresnan has announced that he is pleased to see batsman Kevin Pietersen back in the national team ahead of their Test series against India after spending three months on the sidelines.

Pietersen was exiled from the England team after the second Test against South Africa in August, when he was found guilty of sending derogatory text messages about recently retired Test captain Andrew Strauss to South African players.

Pietersen played in England’s warm-up match against India A and Bresnan noted that it was great to have the “same old Kev” back.

“For the lads it’s nothing different to having a player come back to the squad who has been missing for a while, there’s not been much made of it. Everyone in the know of what’s being going on, they’ve sat down and spoke about things and I guess a few of the senior players have spoken, but for the rest of the boys it’s pretty much been like having someone who’s been injured come back in the side, it’s not been exceptionally different. It’s been the same old Kev. The energy in the field he showed today, all day, it was just Kev to be honest. It’s been good,” Bresnan said.

Bresnan stated that it was great to be back bowling with the red ball again, and added that he was raring to play in the first Test at Ahmedabad on November 15.

“Overs under the belt is key in warm-up games, especially when we’re playing Twenty20 cricket for quite a spell over the last month or so, so definitely, get a day out there, get a day in the legs, a day in the field. You can get value for your shots out there, if it’s past the infield, it’s pretty much four. There’s not much margin for error short or full so I think that’s a bit of rustiness but you expect that first day out,” Bresnan said.

Manoj Tiwary top scored for India A, making 93 in the first innings, which Bresnan was thoroughly impressed with.

“They played nicely, Tiwary played lovely but it seems like a nice wicket to bat on and obviously we’ll know more after we have a go on it but it wasn’t doing particularly much. And they dug in for a partnership when the going was good so that’s part of what cricket’s about,” Bresnan added.

Bresnan also mentioned that he had really enjoyed bowling with the SG ball, and hoped to take a lot more wickets throughout the series.

“We’ve been using them a bit in Dubai the last couple of days, I like the balls here, they’re nice to bowl with, swing a bit early on and reverse a bit later on, the spinners like them. It’s a lot like a Dukes, but not a Dukes,” Bresnan said.