Jason Knight has become the first Republic of Ireland player to publicly voice his opposition to playing Israel on Sunday.

The sides are due to meet in Debrecen, Hungary at 19:45 BST, with the return fixture in Backa Topola, Serbia on 4 October.

Since the sides were drawn together in Group B3, there has been increasing calls in Ireland to withdraw from the games due to the ongoing war in Gaza with a ‘Stop The Game’ campaign gathering pace.

Speaking before Thursday’s 1-0 defeat by Kosovo in Pristina, Republic stand-in skipper Dara O’Shea confirmed the players would meet on Friday to discuss their approach to Sunday’s ‘home’ game against Israel, which will have no Irish fans in attendance, before their behind-closed-doors match the following week.

“Look, it’s difficult, the manager, and Dara, and Nathan [Collins] spoke well about it, I don’t think the game should be going ahead but it is going ahead,” Knight said following the Kosovo game.

“We’ll have a deeper talk about it and what that means, we’ll get our thoughts as a group and go from there.

“I think it was a difficult one. It’s obviously big talk in Ireland. I have been focusing on my football in England in the Championship. But I knew this was coming so I had a think about it.”

Pietersen’s eyes roll slightly when he is asked about Ben Stokes’ recent comments comparing Harry Brook’s talents to his.

Pietersen, like Brook, was a maverick – a batter capable of incredible highs. Those highs mean the lows come with a disproportionate level of criticism.

“Where I can help him is playing situations, because there was a lot of method in my madness,” Pietersen says.

“Yes, occasionally, I got out to reckless shots and crazy shots in the ’80s and ’90s but there was a lot of structure to the way that I batted.

“I’ve still got notes on my phone on how I played in T20 cricket, one-day cricket, Test match cricket, and about hitting straight back at the stumps, and the techniques, and how I did it, and don’t play certain shots.

“That all-round structure is something I could potentially help him with because he’s so flipping good.

“It’s actually frightening how good he is and how good he can be.”

And Pietersen says he will not limit himself to working purely on white-ball cricket.

He has already spoken to new Test coach Stephen Fleming about how he can help the Test batters during his time with the white-ball squads.

Though he said he would not have time for a full-time role, he suggested he is open to working with the Test side before next summer’s home Ashes series.

“I have got a pretty mad schedule,” he says. “I wouldn’t say no.

“I don’t think that necessarily means I need to be in a dressing room.

“There is a lot of time in the lead up to an Ashes series and a tour of South Africa, when I will be with the Test batters.

“There are conversations I can have there.”

Who knows how long this will last. England may as well make the most of this second chance.