Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen has been appointed as the mentor for Delhi Capitals (DC) ahead of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. This marks a special return for Pietersen, who previously captained the franchise in 2014. It will also be his first coaching role in the IPL, having been an active player from 2009 to 2016, during which he played for Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and the Pune franchise.
Expressing his excitement on social media, Pietersen said, “I’m so excited to come home to Delhi! I have the fondest memories of my time with Delhi. I love the city, I love the fans, and I’ll do everything I can to support the franchise in our quest for the title in 2025.”
Pietersen, with a wealth of experience from 200 T20 matches and 5,695 runs, accumulated 1,001 runs in his IPL career across 36 matches. At DC, he will join Hemang Badani, who was appointed as the head coach in October 2024, and a coaching staff that includes assistant coach Matthew Mott, bowling coach Munaf Patel, and director of cricket Venugopal Rao.
DC, who have never won the IPL title, finished sixth in the previous season. Despite their strong squad, they were eliminated in the 2020 final by Mumbai Indians. As part of their preparations for the 2025 season, DC made key changes, including the release of skipper Rishabh Pant. They retained important players like Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Tristan Stubbs, and Abishek Porel.
The franchise made a big impact at the IPL auction, using their sizable budget to sign high-profile players, including KL Rahul, Harry Brook, Faf du Plessis, and Mitchell Starc.
Delhi Capitals will kick off their IPL 2025 campaign against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on March 24 in Visakhapatnam.
