Director of cricket Andrew Strauss has ruled out an immediate return to the England set-up for Kevin Pietersen.

However, the former captain has suggested that there is the possibility of a recall for the 34-year-old.

The batsman, who was sacked in the wake of England's disastrous Ashes tour of Australia in 2013-14, has recently been playing county cricket for Surrey in an attempt to earn an international recall.

Pietersen hit an unbeaten 326 for Surrey against Leicestershire on Tuesday to boost his hopes of a return, but Strauss has decided that it is in the best interests of the team to exclude him for now.

"The first thing to say is that I have never doubted his abilities," he told Sky Sports News. "His record stacks up and he can be proud. But over months and years the trust has been eroded and there is a massive trust issue between him and I and because of that we've decided it's not in the best short-term interest to have in the team. However, he is not banned from the side.

"I'm saying he is not part of our plans for the summer. I can't make any guarantees to him or any other player after the summer. At the moment we're quite estranged. This is not about KP. It's about the future of English cricket."

Strauss was appointed the director of England cricket on Saturday, leading to the sacking of coach Peter Moores.