Former England Test captain Joe Root was “failed by his superiors”, according to Kevin Pietersen.

Root resigned as the captain of the Test side last week after a string of poor results. England have won just one of their last 17 matches, and have not won a series in their last five attempts. The 31-year-old ended his reign with the most games, wins and losses as England skipper.

Pietersen believes that the downfall of the side is not Root’s fault and that he was “exactly the kind of person who should have succeeded as England captain.”

Writing for Betway, Pietersen said, “It’s a sad day for English cricket that a player, team-mate and person as good as Joe Root has had to make this decision. Root is one of England’s greatest ever batters, arguably the greatest. Perhaps even more importantly, he is exactly the kind of person who should have succeeded as England captain.

“I’m incredibly disappointed that somebody of his ilk has had to stand down when he’s been failed by his superiors. The demise of the England Test team is not Joe Root’s fault. The issue is at St John’s Wood, with the administrators. The system is faulty.”

Pietersen added that Root seemed to be finding his way as a skipper, but the “calibre” of players produced by the system held him back.

“There have been times during Root’s captaincy when it looked like he might be onto something,” he said. “They won 3-1 in South Africa just over two years ago and then won back-to-back series at home in the summer of 2020. Ultimately, though, for all the good work he was doing behind the scenes, the calibre of player that the system was producing was never going to be enough for his captaincy to be a success.”

England have a tough task in front of them to pick their next skipper with few standout candidates in the fray. According to Pietersen, the new captain will have “no chance” unless the system is changed from the top.

“Ben Stokes may be the leading candidate as an experienced player who will surely start the summer in the side, but he is already English cricket’s Superman,” he said. “There are issues with every other name that you could think of. I stress again, though, that the appointment of the next Test captain is far from the most important decision English cricket will make over the next few weeks. A new captain has no chance until the system is radically changed from the top.”