The legendary English batsman and former captain has joined his former Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Delhi Capitals as a mentor of the franchise. This was confirmed by the franchise with a press release on Thursday, 27th February. The 44-year-old will join a mighty support staff for Delhi Capitals, including Director of Cricket Venugopal Rao, Head coach Hemang Badani, Assistant coach Matthew Mott, and bowling coach Munaf Patel.
“We are glad to have KP back with us as our team mentor. He is a Delhi boy and has played for us earlier, so it’s fantastic to have him back in a different role. His vast experience, tactical understanding of the game, and great passion towards the franchise will be invaluable to our team and our players,” Delhi Capitals Chairman & Co-owner Kiran Kumar Grandhi said
“He was arguably one of the best modern-day batsmen, and it’s a huge asset to have him in our network. We really look forward to seeing what he has to offer and how he helps our players in pursuing our goals. My very best wishes to him as he begins this new chapter,” said Parth Jindal, Co-owner Delhi Capitals.
Returning to the franchise after over a decade, Pietersen remarked: “I have incredible memories of representing the Delhi franchise in the IPL and have managed to keep that love for the franchise even as a broadcaster all these years. I played alongside Venu (Venugopal Rao) back in the 2012 season, and it is great to be back with him now while starting a new chapter at this wonderful franchise.”
“As long as I’ve had a great relationship with the owners and the Delhi Capitals fan, when this idea came about, it was an immediate YES from me. It’s a great opportunity to come into this new role as a mentor for the Capitals, and I’m really looking forward to joining the team and working closely with the boys to do everything I can to help us win that ultimate prize.”
The English cricketer has represented 36 matches and scored 1001 runs in the Indian Premier League, playing for the Delhi Daredevils, Royal Challengers, Sunrisers, and Pune franchises. He gained recognition as an all-time great, leading his team in the 2008-2009 Test series, and won the Player of the Series award in England’s expedition during his time with the England team that captured their first-ever ICC trophy: the one awarded in the 2010 T20 World Cup.
He played 104 Test matches and made impressive runs of 8,181, alongside the 136 ODIs wherein he scored 4,440 runs in his stellar career.
