Former England bowler Steve Harmison has claimed that Kevin Pietersen does not have "a cat in hell's chance" of returning to international cricket.

Pietersen's England career was brought to an end when his contract was terminated by the ECB last February following the 5-0 defeat in Australia, and there was more controversy late last year when the 34-year-old suggested in his autobiography that there was a bullying culture in the squad.

The batsman claimed on Tuesday that England one-day international captain Eoin Morgan would "love" to have him in the squad for the World Cup, but Harmison believes that a return is still unlikely.

"I would be very, very surprised if Kevin gets anywhere near the England cricket team again," Pietersen's former teammate told BBC Radio 5 live.

"Even though I think the world of Kevin and he is a fantastic player - he can start making noises and scoring runs but the reality is there is too many people involved with this decision to sack Kevin.

"I think a lot of people would like Kevin Pietersen to be in an England dressing room, [but] the ECB have not wanted Kevin for a while."

England seamer Stuart Broad joined the debate at the weekend by claiming that it was "unnecessary" to sack Pietersen.