There was no place for Kevin Pietersen among the 10 England players awarded central contracts on Friday by the England and Wales Cricket Board for the 2013 season.
Pietersen has been in England exile since being dropped following the second Test against his native South Africa in Leeds last month.
But the ECB did not completely close the door on Pietersen being added to the list for what will be an Ashes year, saying in a statement on Friday: “In respect to Kevin Pietersen discussions are on-going and they remain private.”
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Officials, already frustrated by availability rows, were furious when it emerged Pietersen had sent “provocative” texts to South African players - some allegedly critical of then England captain Andrew Strauss.
That meant the 32-year-old batsman missed the final Test against the Proteas at Lord’s and the subsequent one-day series, which ended in a 2-2 draw with one no-result after the tourists' seven-wicket win at Trent Bridge on Wednesday. u00a0Pietersen will also miss England’s defence of their World Twenty20 title in SL this monthu00a0
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