England are happy to let Kevin Pietersen leave the upcoming ICC World Twenty20 competition should his wife give birth to their first child.

The South African-born batsman was included in the provisional 30-man squad for the tournament in the Caribbean when it was named on Monday.

Pietersen may be forced to return home midway through the tournament should his wife go into labour, but he will do so with national selector Geoff Miller's blessing.

In recent years, Andrew Flintoff, Andrew Strauss and Matt Prior have all been given permission to leave tours and tournaments in similar circumstances.

"I'm a great advocate of people being solid family-wise, so I've no problem with that," said Miller. "Nobody dictates when it will be, so we'll play it by ear."

Pietersen is expected to be part of the final 15-man squad for the tournament despite rules dictating that England cannot pick a replacement should he either return home or be sidelined by injury.