Pietersen named Daredevils captain, Karthik his deputy

New Delhi, March 18 (IANS) England discard Kevin Pietersen will captain the all new look Delhi Daredevils during the seventh Indian Premier League while wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik would be his deputy, the team announced Tuesday.

Pietersen, a former England skipper, has been sensational in the T20s and was named ‘Man of the Tournament’ in the 2010 World Twenty20 helping his team bag its maiden ICC crown.

Pietersen joined Delhi Daredevils in 2012 and made an impact with his eight-match outing amassing 305 runs with an average of 61, including a match-winning ton against now defunct Deccan Chargers to help the team top the league. He was unavailable in 2013 owing to an injury. He was bought for Rs.9 crore at the IPL auction last month.

On being appointed captain, Pietersen said: “I feel incredibly honoured to have been asked to captain the Delhi Daredevils. I am very much looking forward to working alongside coach Gary Kirsten. We have a fantastic squad with a good blend of youth and experience and a brilliant coaching set up. We hope to bring our incredible fans a lot of happiness this season.”

Karthik makes his return to the Daredevils family after having played with the franchise for the first three years. He was bought for Rs.12.5 crore at the auction.

The wicket-keeper batsman has amassed 1,741 runs in 92 IPL appearances.

On the appointments, Kirsten said: “I am looking forward to working with Kevin Pietersen as the captain of the Delhi Daredevils. It will be great to have him with us for the full duration of IPL and I have no doubt that he will have a positive and significant impact.”