England batsman Eoin Morgan insists he is keen to utilise Kevin Pietersen in the second T20 international with New Zealand on Thursday.
Pietersen could only watch on Tuesday night when the hosts were left chasing a total of 201-4 and despite showing some signs of hitting the target, they fell five runs short.
The controversial batsman has had injury problems throughout his career but Morgan believes he is ready to come back into the fold.
The 32-year-old is only just returning from a three-month absence following a knee injury that has hindered his chances of being involved, with preparations for the Ashes series well underway.
However, Pietersen made his return to competitive action for Surrey in the County Championship earlier this week, hitting an unbeaten 177 and showing his quality.
Morgan – who captained the side that lost to the Black Caps at The Oval – believes the South African-born man is just what is missing as they look to tie the T20 series up.
Morgan said: “My role is to get him in and his role is to win the game.
“Kevin is a huge part of English cricket and has been for a long time. What he brings to the table, probably very few people in the world can.
“He can take the game away from you at any stage and we saw during the week the way he performed, he takes a lot of pride in when he goes out there and bats.
“He looks in good form.”
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