HOW arrogant can Kevin Pietersen be?

Now, I appreciate that for sportsmen and women to succeed at the highest level then a considerable degree of self-esteem, self-confidence and indeed self preservation is required.

It’s extremely unlikely for shrinking violets to bloom amid the pressure-cooker demands of sport at its most exacting.

But this week new depths of self-promotion were plumbed by the cricketer who goes by his initials.

And, by the way, how I detest that modern phenomenon of sports performers being hailed in such aggrandising short-hand - JT of the parish of Chelsea is another that springs to mind.

First off, the precious Pietersen used a broadcast commentary in Australia to declare how new England One-Day International captain Eoin Morgan was an avowed champion of the exiled batsman.

“I know he would love to have me in the team,” gushed Pietersen, who also went on to say that to this day he did not know why he was jettisoned by England.

How by your act of betrayal to former captain Andrew Strauss then, or your disruptive influence in the dressing-room as valid reasons for being cast out, eh Kev?

Fortunately, Morgan, who yesterday swished a rapid-fire ton in England’s Tri-Series opener against Australia as part of the preparations for next month’s World Cup, readily produced a reply to Pietersen’s conviction of just how much he was adored.

Irishman Morgan, who is believed to have a more amiable relationship with Pietersen than many of his former team-mates, dispelled any doubt by squashing Pietersen’s fanciful fantasy.

Said the new England captain: “I think this is a good opportunity to clear things up, given that Kevin has a lot of opportunity to talk in the media and get his point of view out there.

“I’m very happy with the group of players I have. I think this is the best group of players we have to drive the England team forward over the next two months in particular.

“Kevin’s situation hasn’t changed over the last year. It’s been reiterated over months and days. It was reiterated before Christmas by the chairman of selectors (James Whitaker) and I’m reiterating it again just to clear it up.”

I think that last paragraph should make it as transparent as crystal, don’t you Mr Pietersen?

However, you can’t keep a mighty self-publicist down for long, can you?

Less than days after Morgan cut his former team-mate to the quick-wicket, Pietersen was back, or rather his back was to the fore.

The 34-year-old former international batsman has given the world a glimpse of his world, as if we needed such a dubious privilege.

The shy, retiring willow-wielder has had a new tell-tale tattoo done.

Starting from his chest, the inked job circles round on to his back in a map of the world. But this is no ordinary global representation. It is indeed a sat-nav of his accomplishments in the Test arena.

On Pietersen’s own Mappa Mundi are red stars marking all the venues where he scored each of his 32 Test centuries.

And as if we did not get the message of just how great a player Pietersen was, is and still can be (in his own mind anyway) the creation of the body art was filmed.

And for those who may have missed it - shame on you - he then instagrammed the vision declaring how he had “spent the afternoon with the superstar tattooist here in Melbourne” followed by the artist’s hashtag.

Linking the image on Twitter, he added: “Work the stars out yourself on my last Instagram post!”. Oh, what a card, what a turn, what a genius, what a wall-flower.

A more appropriate tat might well have been direction-pointers to the venues where he was in conflict with his team-mates. That might then ease Pietersen’s mind as to why he no longer plays for England.