Kevin Pietersen Steps Down as Delhi Capitals Mentor Ahead of IPL 2026

March 14, 2026: Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen will not be the mentor of Delhi Capitals (DC) in the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He said he cannot give enough time to the role. However, he will return as a commentator for the tournament.

Pietersen, 45, was appointed DC mentor in February 2025 for that year’s IPL. He worked with Director of Cricket Venugopal Rao, Head Coach Hemang Badani, Assistant Coach Matthew Mott, and Bowling Coach Munaf Patel.

Pietersen shared the news on X, saying: "I cannot be a mentor for Delhi Capitals in this IPL season. I can't commit the time that the job requires. Best wishes to all the players for this season! However, I'll see you back in the commentary box! IPL is the world's best league, and I can't wait to see all of you soon!"

Pietersen has played 200 T20 matches and scored 5,695 runs. In the IPL, he played 36 matches, scoring 1,001 runs for Delhi Daredevils, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Pune. He captained England from 2008 to 2009 and was Player of the Series in the 2010 ICC T20 World Cup.

In his international career, Pietersen played 104 Test matches, scoring 8,181 runs, and 136 ODIs with 4,440 runs.

🚨 समाचार 🚨

मैं आईपीएल के इस सीजन में दिल्ली कैपिटल्स के लिए मेंटर नहीं बन सकता।

मैं उस समय के लिए प्रतिबद्ध नहीं हो सकता, जो काम की आवश्यकता है।

सभी खिलाड़ियों को इस सीजन के लिए शुभकामनाएं! ❤️

हालांकि मैं आपको कॉम बॉक्स में वापस देखूंगा! आईपीएल दुनिया की सबसे अच्छी लीग है…

— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) March 14, 2026

IPL 2026 Schedule and Delhi Capitals’ Preparations

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the first phase of IPL 2026 will be played from March 28 to April 12. Full schedule will be shared later as some states have elections during this period.

The IPL 2026 will start with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) playing Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. There will be 20 matches at 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad.

In IPL 2025, Delhi Capitals finished fifth in the league stage and missed the playoffs. They earned 15 points, winning seven matches, losing six, and one match was washed out. KL Rahul scored the most runs (539), and spinner Kuldeep Yadav took 15 wickets. The team showed good form but struggled in key games.

Before the 2026 auction, Delhi Capitals kept their main players: Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, and Mitchell Starc. They also added David Miller, Ben Duckett, Pathum Nissanka, Lungi Ngidi, and Kyle Jamieson to improve batting and fast bowling.

Delhi Capitals will start IPL 2026 against Lucknow Super Giants on April 1 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.