LONDON: Kevin Pietersen says “superstar” Ben Stokes missing the rest of England’s Test series against Sri Lanka is a “big blow” for the player.

The loss of Stokes is seen as a significant blow for England, with Sky Sports pundit Dominic Cork saying “England will miss him”.

And Pietersen believes Stokes’ absence will be a huge loss, who he says is one of the country’s finest players.

“It’s a big blow for Ben Stokes, he’s a wonderful player, a superstar, and he’s going to do some great things for England,” Pietersen told Sky Sports News HQ.

“He’s going to play stupid shots and get out in silly ways, but he’s going to add a lot more pleasure to people watching the game than he is anything else.

“I fully support and endorse the way he plays his cricket and it’s just sad that he’s going to be missing out.”

Pietersen doesn’t think Sri Lanka, who lost by an innings and 88 runs in the first Test at Headingley, will pose as great a challenge as Pakistan, who tour England later this summer.

“With Pakistan you can’t write them off yet because their bowling attack is ridiculous,” Pietersen said.

“I’ve faced some of them and I played in the Pakistan Super League in Dubai and there are wonderful players in there.

“That will hopefully be more competitive then the Sri Lankan series but [I still think] England win,” Pietersen added.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2016