Gimme a break! I'm not a robot : KP

London, July 12 (UNI) Blaming fatigue for his poor run in POMS' 1-2 loss to the West Indies in the ODIs, England's batting mainstay Kevin Pietersen is going on a break to recharge his batteries ahead of the upcoming series against India.

''I'm not a robot. I'm going away now for a few days, which isn't a real break, but hopefully it will help in some way before the Test series against India,'' he explained.

Pietersen not only lost the midas touch with the bat but also lost his top ranking to Australian Ricky Ponting.

The big-hitting batsman blamed tiredness for his poor form in the ODIs, in which he managed just 42 runs in the three matches.

''Right now I'm mentally fatigued, I'm just a very, very tired person,'' Pietersen told BBC Radio Five Live.

Justifying the need of a long break, he recalled ''I think I had a about a month off when I broke my rib in Australia, which was magnificent. I felt refreshed and I had a pretty sensational World Cup.'' Playing down his loss of form in the recent series, KP says ''At the end of the day I've failed three times in a week and that's not going to make me lose any sleep.

'''The problem would be if I kept failing and kept failing in the same way, if it was a technical flaw.'' Calling for more time off to allow the top players to recover, he said ''The England team is a team that never, ever stops.

''It's been a long, long three years and I haven't had a proper break to be honest with you. I know the issue is being discussed, not just amongst the players but amongst the England hierarchy and around the world.'' ''A good four to six weeks is about right for a proper break,'' he asserted.

The first of three Tests against India begins on 19 July at Lord's, followed by seven ODIs and England can least do without KP for that entire schedule.

UNI