Former England captain Kevin Pietersen has been named the team mentor for Delhi Capitals ahead of the 2025 Indian Premier League season. The franchise announced the appointment on its official app but has yet to name a captain for the upcoming season.
Pietersen will join head coach Hemang Badani, assistant coach Matthew Mott, bowling coach Munaf Patel, and director of cricket Venugopal Rao in the support staff. This is his first coaching role in the IPL. The 44-year-old last played in the league in 2016.
"It's an exciting opportunity to step into this new role as a mentor for the Capitals," Pietersen said in a team statement. "I am looking forward to working closely with the squad and doing everything I can to help us win the ultimate prize."
"I have incredible memories of representing Delhi in the IPL and have remained passionate about the team as a broadcaster over the years," Pietersen said. "I shared the field with Venugopal Rao in 2012 and look forward to reconnecting with him in this new chapter."
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Pietersen played for three IPL franchises over five seasons from 2009. He captained Royal Challengers Bengaluru briefly in 2009 before leading Delhi Daredevils in 2014. He also captained England in 15 international matches, including a two-match Test series in India in 2008.
Pietersen played in multiple global T20 leagues, including the Big Bash League, Pakistan Super League, and Caribbean Premier League. Across 200 T20 matches, he scored 5,695 runs at an average of 33.89 and a strike rate of nearly 137.
Delhi Capitals finished sixth in IPL 2024 and entered the auction with the largest purse among all 10 teams after releasing several big-name players. They retained Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Tristan Stubbs, and Abishek Porel before signing KL Rahul, Harry Brook, Faf du Plessis, and Mitchell Starc.
The IPL 2025 season will begin on March 22, with defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders set to face Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Eden Gardens. Delhi Capitals will start their campaign against Lucknow Super Giants on March 24 at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. The team will aim to improve its performance after finishing sixth last season and missing out on a playoff spot.
