As the England white-ball opener's struggles continue into the start of The Hundred, Pietersen wants to see the World Cup winner backed by Jos Buttler and Matthew Mott
Jason Roy has struggled to score runs this summer but with a T20 World Cup just round the corner Kevin Pietersen says the 32-year-old needs support.
Roy remains one of England's finest in white-ball cricket and was a key figure in the 2019 World Cup win, scoring 443 runs at an average of 63.29.
Yet his form of late has been on a downward spiral, the latest failure coming as he scored just 10 for Oval Invincibles against Welsh Fire.
Roy's international returns have dried up (Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
In 11 limited-over games for England this summer, Roy has only scored 197 runs and he has taken that form into the opening games of The Hundred.
Speaking prior to the game Pietersen said the Surrey opener needs to be backed by his country and the new leadership group of Jos Buttler and head coach Matthew Mott.
He told Sky Sports: "Jason Roy's a World Cup winner. He's done an unbelievable job for Eoin Morgan. Morgan told him to go out and smack that ball.
"Now with smacking the ball and being a risk taker, you’re going to fail. And when you start failing, failing could happen for a long time.
Kevin Pietersen is working with Sky Sports during The Hundred (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
"He is your best player and he has been your best player for a number of years. What they should be saying, and I think this is what is actually happening behind the scenes, back your best players."
England warm-up for the World Cup by facing Pakistan in seven T20Is - an ideal opportunity for Roy to rediscover his best form.
"Give Roy the opportunity, through The Hundred and through those T20s to find form again," Pietersen added.
"Back him! They've done it with Zak Crawley in Test matches. Ben Stokes has categorically said that Crawley will play for the rest of the season. They need to do that with Jason Roy and the T20 team."
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