Kevin Pietersen to captain Royal Challengers

Bangalore, Mar 22: Bangalore Royal Challengers (RC) owner Vijay Mallya on Saturday, Mar 21 announced that England batsman Kevin Pietersen would replace Rahul Dravid as captain for the second season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The announcement has put an end to speculation that Kevin Pietersen would take over as the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain.

Along with Dravid"s departure as the captain of the Bangalore-based side, it was also curtains for his state-mate and team"s bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad, who has now moved to take up the job with the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings.

"I am pleased to announce that the captain of Bangalore Royal Challengers will be Kevin Pietersen," Mallya said at a press conference on Saturday, Mar 21. "Jacques Kallis will take over as captain after Kevin returns to England."

Mallya said that Dravid, who was captain in the last season where Bangalore finished seventh in the competition, was supportive of the decision. He is also Bangalore's icon player.

Pietersen, who was bought at the Goa auction for a record $ 1.55 million on Feb 6, was tipped to take charge of the hot seat, with Mallya dropping strong hints on those lines in his post-auction comments.

OneIndia News