Calcutta: Whether Ben Stokes plays the Ashes series or not, England will be under massive pressure when the first Test gets underway on November 23.

Kevin Pietersen, who’s played a leading role in each of England’s Ashes triumphs in 2005, 2009, 2010-11 and 2013, feels captain Joe Root’s relaxed approach is one positive aspect for the side.

“I don’t know how Root captains, but he’s a free wheeler. He laughs, he jokes, I’ve always liked the way that he’s come across.

“I was out there batting when he walked out on Test debut (against India in Nagpur in December 2012), just really relaxed.

He was like, ‘Hey buddy, what’s up, how you doing?’ I was like, ‘Pfff geez, first Test match, pretty big Test match this ... We have to draw to win in India’. But he was calm, and got 70-odd.

“I like the thing about Joe that he stays relaxed,” the former England captain told a cricket-specific website.

Asked about England’s batting without Ian Bell and him, Pietersen replied: “It’s probably not for us to say, to go jumping around making statements about who’s replaced who. I just know there are some very, very big frailties in that batting order.”

About England’s spin department, Pietersen feels Moeen Ali could be targeted by Australian batsmen even though he has been amongst wickets lately. “(Graeme) Swann got hit regularly on the last trip and I know that (Darren) Lehmann will probably tell the Aussie batsmen to do the same to Moeen,” Pietersen feels.