New Delhi, Feb 27 (IANS) Delhi Capitals (DC) have announced that former England captain Kevin Pietersen will be the side’s mentor for the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise made the announcement via their fan engagement app on Thursday.
Pietersen joins the DC coaching staff comprising head coach Hemang Badani, director of cricket Venugopal Rao, bowling coach Munaf Patel and assistant coach Matthew Mott. This will be the first time Pietersen will take up a support staff role with a cricket team, especially with his post-playing career comprising mainly of commentary stints, including in the IPL.
Pietersen had turned out for DC, then called Delhi Daredevils in IPL 2012 and 2014, amassing 305 and 294 runs respectively. He even captained the franchise in 17 games, with DC finishing at the bottom of the points table after winning just two wins in 14 matches in 2014.
A veteran of 200 T20s with 5,695 runs, Pietersen appeared in 36 IPL matches scoring 1001 runs across his stints with the Delhi Daredevils, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and the Pune franchise. The South African-born player, who captained England between 2008-2009, won the Player of the Series award for his remarkable performance in the 2010 ICC T20 World Cup, which helped England secure their maiden ICC trophy.
In his illustrious international career, Pietersen played 104 Tests, scoring 8,181 runs, and 136 ODIs, amassing 4,440 runs.
Interestingly, when the GMR Group acquired a 100 per cent stake in owning the Hampshire County Cricket Club, the team Pietersen played from 2005-10, for close to 120 million pound in September last year, it came to light that he was the one who played a part in the deal to happen, due to him being mutual friends with GMR chairman Kiran Kumar Grandhi, and Rod Bransgrove, the chair of club’s parent company.
Parth Jindal, Co-owner of Delhi Capitals, said, “KP was arguably one of the best modern-day batters, and having him in our team is a valuable addition. We look forward to seeing him apply his knowledge and help our players drive towards our objectives. My best wishes to him in this new role.”
Earlier this week, Delhi Capitals also announced the appointment of renowned and highly successful coach Matthew Mott as their assistant coach. Mott coached the England men’s team to victory in the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup and previously spent seven record-breaking years with Australia’s women’s team. His tenure included two T20 World Cup titles, one ODI World Cup, four Ashes series wins, and a remarkable record 26-match winning streak in ODIs.
DC is one of the two teams alongside defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders who are yet to name their captain for IPL 2025.
–IANS
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