Kevin Pietersen said he wants to captain England again despite resigning this week after a fall-out with coach Peter Moores.
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"I feel I've got unfinished business as captain of England -- I definitely feel that," Pietersen, who has been replaced by batsman Andrew Strauss, told the News of the World.
"But right now, I feel it is right for me to go back and just play -- to do something that I totally, totally love and which is scoring runs and more runs for England."
Pietersen quit on Wednesday after less than six months in the job and standing as captain for just three test matches.
Moores was sacked on the same day after what the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) described as an "irretrievable breakdown" in the relationship between the two men.
However, Pietersen has made it clear that he wants to continue playing for England despite media reports suggesting he had lost the support of his team mates.
"I am committed 100 percent behind the skipper and winning games of cricket," Pietersen said.
"I will get up every day and I'll smile and do whatever I can to win games of cricket for England and keep putting the smiles on the public's faces because I know how much people love watching me bat and that's the kind of stuff that turns me on."
The South African-born Pietersen said he was disappointed that his personality had been criticised since his resignation, insisting he had done what he felt was right for the team.
"People talk about my ego as if it's out of control," he said. "But if I had any kind of ego, I would have held on to the captaincy and taken all the privileges that go with it.
"But I risked it all because I thought it was my duty to say things were not right. I risked it all because it was my duty as England captain to say this was how we should move forward.
"What hurts me was the character assassination that has been totally unfounded. I want to get my story across so that people can understand that I have done absolutely nothing wrong."
Pietersen also denied reports that he had fallen out with team mate Andrew Flintoff.
"My relationship with Freddie was great and towards the end I sat down with him and I said ... 'mate, this is what is going on'. I explained about the meetings I had had with the management over the situation with the coach.
"We had a good chat and Freddie's parting words were: 'You cannot leave as England captain.'"
Strauss was also confirmed as one-day captain on Friday as the squad prepare for next month's tour of West Indies.
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