Adam Gilchrist has questioned whether Kevin Pietersen can continue to perform under the added weight of captaincy.

Pietersen, a star of England's 2005 Ashes triumph, on Monday succeed Michael Vaughan as captain of the Test side.

The South African-born right-handed batsman will also lead the one-day and Twenty20 teams following Paul Collingwood's decision to relinquish that role.

Gilchrist believes the fact Vaughan and Collingwood gave up their leadership positions on the back of poor form was not ideal for Pietersen.

"If he doesn't score runs at the moment England are well and truly out of just about any competition. They need him doing that," Gilchrist told Melbourne radio station SEN on Tuesday.

"When two captains are resigning and saying 'I need to just get back to playing cricket and worrying about scoring runs, there's too much pressure captaining', it's probably not the most positive way to step into it."

Vaughan's contribution after replacing Nasser Hussain in 2003 dropped off significantly compared to his sparkling form prior to taking the reins.

Gilchrist said Pietersen, who averages more than 50 in both the five-day and limited-overs versions of the game, was inclined to motivate team-mates with his batting above anything else.

"Everyone has their different techniques and he inspires those around him just by his performance and his belief," Gilchrist said.

"There's going to be a lot of pressure on him now. I must admit I would've let Kevin keep being the number one batsman, but who do you give it to in that group?

"There are a lot of young players and it's a bit of a bombshell."

Gilchrist likened Pietersen to charismatic leg-spinner Shane Warne, whose off-field issues prevented him from a more substantial leadership role for Australia.

"He's very much (like Warne), he'll be very aggressive and he'll be looking to always take control and be in command of everything that he is doing," Gilchrist added.

"He's that sort of strong personality, there's no doubt about that.

"I haven't played enough cricket in and around Kevin Pietersen to know whether he has got the nous, the ability and skills of Shane Warne when it comes to captaincy."