Former England skipper Kevin Pietersen has been named as the captain of his new Indian Premier League side, the Bangalore Royal Challengers.
Owner Vijay Mallya confirmed the decision over the weekend, despite Pietersen only being available for three of the IPL’s six weeks.
Bangalore finished last season’s IPL seventh out of eight teams, with just four wins from their 14 matches, and were criticised by fans. And it is thought that Mallya hopes the appointment of a more expensive captain to replace former Indian Test skipper Rahul Dravid.
“I am pleased to announce that the captain of Bangalore Royal Challengers will be Kevin Pietersen,” said Mallya, who confirmed that South Africa’s Jacques Kallis will take over as captain when the Englishman leaves.
“Kevin’s travel schedule is being finalised. He will come in time to captain and perform for the team.”
Pietersen was signed by Bangalore for a record $1.55 million (£1.1 million) at auction – joining fellow newcomer, England’s Andrew Flintoff, in breaking the previous mark of $1.5 million for Indian wicketkeeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
