Kevin Pietersen has joined Delhi Capitals as their mentor for IPL 2025. The England legend Kevin Pietersen was part of the Delhi-based franchise from 2012 to 2014. He also captained DC during his stint with them. Kevin Pietersen has been doing commentary in IPL since his retirement from the sport.
Kevin Pietersen has joined Delhi Capitals (DC) as their mentor for IPL 2025. The franchise made the mega announcement on Thursday (February 27). The appointment marks Pietersen’s return to DC after a decade. He was associated with the franchise from 2012 to 2014. Pietersen also led DC during his stint. Under him, DC managed to win only 1 out of 11 matches in IPL 2024.
England’s Kevin Pietersen stint in IPL and his new role in IPL 2025
Kevin Pietersen played for three IPL franchises for five seasons from 2009, including Delhi (then called Daredevils), and had even captained 17 times. After leading Royal Challengers Bengaluru briefly in IPL 2009, he captained Daredevils during a full season in 2014, when they finished at the bottom of the table with two wins in 14 games. Kevin Pietersen also captained England across 15 internationals, including a two-match Test series in India in 2008.
Delhi Capitals announced former England captain Kevin Pietersen as their mentor for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. The franchise made the announcement on social media on Thursday, February 27, confirming the return of one of their most sought-after former players.
Kevin Pietersen will work closely with head coach Hemang Badani, who was roped in for the new season. Delhi Capitals have gone through a complete overhaul of their coaching structure after parting ways with Ricky Ponting at the end of the IPL 2024 season. Badani was part of their auction process as the former India all-rounder played a big role in securing some smart buys in the mega auction last year.
This will be Kevin Pietersen’s first coaching role in the IPL. He last played in the Indian T20 league in 2016. Delhi Capitals, however, are yet to announce their captain for the upcoming season. Delhi Capitals will have Venugopal Rao as their Director of Cricket and Munaf Patel as their bowling.
The former finalists also roped in Matthew Mott as their assistant coach. Mott worked with Kolkata Knight Riders in the past and recently worked with the England cricket team as their white-ball coach. He was in charge of the team when England won the T20 World Cup in 2022.
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen has been appointed Delhi Capitals’ mentor for IPL 2025. The 44-year-old will join Hemang Badani (head coach), Matthew Mott (assistant coach), Munaf Patel (bowling coach) and Venugopal Rao (director of cricket) in the DC backroom. The franchise, which made the announcement on its app, is yet to name a captain for the upcoming season.
Kevin Pietersen reportedly shares a good equation with the co-owners of Delhi Capitals — the GMR Group. Kevin Pietersen, who scored more than 13,000 runs in international cricket, led the Delhi Capitals in the 2014 season. Unfortunately, Delhi finished last in that season with just two victories.
DC will also have a new captain in the upcoming season. Axar Patel, KL Rahul and Faf du Plessis seem to be leading contenders for the top job. Axar assisted Suryakumar Yadav in the five-match T20I series against England. He has never done captaincy in IPL. Rahul has captained Team India in all three formats. He is the former captain of Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants. Faf du Plessis captained Royal Challengers Bengaluru from IPL 2022 to 2024. He is the former captain of South Africa.
Kevin Pietersen shares his thoughts on his new role with Delhi Capitals
Kevin Pietersen said that he has had some great memories representing Delhi in the IPL and it was a quick yes from him to take the role with DC.
“I’ve got incredible memories of representing the Delhi franchise in the IPL, and I’ve been able to maintain that passion for the team even as a broadcaster over the years. I shared the field with Venu (Venugopal Rao) during the 2012 season, and it’s great to be reconnecting with him as we begin a new chapter at this amazing franchise.”
“I’ve got a great relationship with the owners and the Delhi Capitals fans, so when this idea came about, it was a very quick YES from me. It’s an exciting opportunity to step into this new role as a mentor for the Capitals, and I’m really looking forward to joining the squad, working closely with the boys, and doing everything I can to help us win that ultimate prize,” he added.
Kevin Pietersen played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2009 and 2010 before playing for the Capitals in 2012 and 2014. His best season in the IPL came in 2021 in which he scored 305 runs, including a hundred, for Delhi in 2012. Pietersen ended his IPL career at Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016.
Outside of the IPL, Kevin Pietersen has featured in the Big Bash League (BBL), Pakistan Super League (PSL) and Caribbean Premier League (CPL). Overall, he played 200 T20s, scoring 5695 runs at an average of 33.89 and strike rate of just under 137.
DC, who have only ever reached the final of the IPL once in all these years finished sixth in IPL 2024 and went into the auction last year with the biggest purse among all the ten teams after letting go of most of their big-ticket players and retaining only Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Tristan Stubbs and Abhishek Porel. They then added star players including KL Rahul, Harry Brook, Faf du Plessis and Mitchell Starc to their roster.
Their Indian support staff – Badani, Rao and Munaf – had recently coached Dubai Capitals to the ILT20 title, the first trophy won by a Capitals side in men’s or women’s tournaments anywhere in the world and in assistance of Kevin Pietersen would love to win the title in IPL too.