Kevin Pietersen puts country before IPL after confirming selection U-turn

LONDON // Kevin Pietersen has made a dramatic U-turn by committing himself to playing for England in all forms of the game - and sacrificing his IPL place.

Pietersen revealed in an interview posted on YouTube last night that he has had a "change of heart" on his England future, less than a week after refusing to give assurances that next week's third Investec Test against South Africa would not be his final international appearance.

The squad for that crucial match will be named later today.

The 32-year-old has backed down on his insistence to play a full Indian Premier League campaign next year and now says he is happy to feature in the home Test series against New Zealand, and he has also made himself available for the forthcoming one-day series against South Africa and the World Twenty20 tournament in Sri Lanka in the autumn if selected.

Pietersen had initially indicated his desire to play a full season in the IPL for Delhi Daredevils next year, which would have netted him in excess of £1million (Dh5.76m).

But he stepped back from that position, saying: "I've taken that all back. I've had a conversation with the franchise in India ... and I won't be playing the full IPL.

"I will come back and play the Test matches against New Zealand next year so IPL is definitely not an elephant in the room any more."

Key to his about-turn appears to have been a conversation with a teammate which appears to have helped clear the air from Pietersen's point of view, after he had hinted at tensions in the dressing room following the end of the second Test at Headingley on Monday night.

Pietersen said: "I've had a change of heart because I love playing cricket for England, I love being part of a successful England team.

"It would be sad for me to finish with the way things have been running through the media in the last three or four days - it would be sad to end my career like this.

"So sitting down with my family, my advisers, my close friends, we've decided and I've decided it would be a lot better to finish my career on a positive note rather than one that's being developed at the moment."

The South Africa-born batsman expressed his regret for his comments at Headingley and revealed his morale in the dressing room has now improved greatly after a frank and honest chat with an unnamed teammate.

"There's a press conference I did on Monday night which I didn't handle the right way. I was very emotional. I am who I am in terms of shooting from the hip," he said.

"I do make mistakes. The mood in the dressing room was, I think in the last 24 hours, sorted out.

"I had a really, really, really good long chat to a teammate of mine yesterday. We went through everything

"We went through differences, we went through loads of different things and I actually finished that conversation a very happy bloke and someone who can't wait to meet up with the team on Tuesday."

England need to win the final match against the Proteas at Lord's to level the series and preserve their position at the top of the International Cricket Council's Test rankings.

Watch Pietersen's video interview below

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Classification of skills

A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.

A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.

The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.

What the law says

Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.

“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.

“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”

If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.