Kevin Pietersen has become a part of the Delhi Capitals (DC) support staff, his first official stint in a support staff role. Pietersen will be working alongside head coach Hemang Badani, director of cricket Venugopal Rao, bowling coach Munaf Patel, and assistant coach Matthew Mott.
Pietersen, who has primarily been involved in commentary since retiring, previously played for DC (then called Delhi Daredevils) in 2012 and 2014. He scored 305 and 294 runs in those seasons, respectively, and even captained the franchise in 17 matches in 2014. However, under his leadership, the team finished at the bottom of the points table with just two wins in 14 games.
With extensive experience in T20 cricket, Pietersen featured in 200 T20s, making 5,695 runs, of which 1,001 runs came in 36 IPL games during spells with Delhi Daredevils, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and the defunct Pune franchise. Internationally, he led England from 2008-2009 and was awarded Player of the Series in England's record 2010 ICC T20 World Cup victory. Throughout his career, he scored 8,181 runs in 104 Test matches and 4,440 runs in 136 ODIs.
Aside from cricket, Pietersen was involved in GMR Group's buyout of Hampshire County Cricket Club last year through his relationships with GMR chairman Kiran Kumar Grandhi and Rod Bransgrove, the club parent company's chair.
Welcoming Pietersen to the franchise, DC co-owner Parth Jindal 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."
This is a follow-up to Delhi Capitals' recent recruitment of Matthew Mott as an assistant coach. Mott, a very successful coach, took England's men's team to win the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup and enjoyed a seven-year spell with Australia's women's team, winning several T20 and ODI World Cups, Ashes series, and establishing a record 26-match ODI winning sequence.
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