Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
Kevin Pietersen, the mentor of Delhi Capitals, has praised his team’s wicketkeeper batter KL Rahul for his excellent performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, which has propelled them to the top half of the table going into the business end of the tournament. The former South African cricketer also remarked that KL Rahul deserves to make a return to the Indian T20I setup, and not only that, he wants him to bat at the number four position for the national team.
Notably, in his eight matches for DC in the IPL 2025, KL Rahul has batted in different positions in the top order, and ended up scoring 364 runs at an average of 60.33 and a strike-rate of 146.18, including three half-centuries. Since the 2019 season of the IPL, this has easily been the best year for KL Rahul in terms of strike-rate, despite playing on a few pitches assisting the bowlers, which was actually the major reason as to why he was eventually left out of the Indian T20I squad in 2022.
After leaving Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and joining Delhi Capitals (DC), KL Rahul spoke during the early stages of the IPL 2025 about how he wants to play freely and in a lighter atmosphere. And in the league this season, the 33-year-old has managed to showcase his intent to hit boundaries from the get-go rather than being circumspect, which was a theme in his game while leading LSG, and before that, Punjab Kings (PBKS).
The way that KL Rahul is playing cricket now, he would be my first choice to bat at four: Kevin Pietersen
The burden of captaincy had weighed KL Rahul down as per his recent admission, which is why he decided to not take the role in DC colours, and it has paid dividends thus far. Kevin Pietersen, in his recent interview, said about him, as per Cricbuzz, “I'd bat KL at four for India in T20 cricket, I think you guys have got plenty of opening batters, you've got Surya who bats at the top, you've got all of these guys but the way that KL Rahul is playing cricket now, he would be my first choice to bat at four and keep wicket for India.”
Known as an admirer of KL Rahul’s play, Kevin Pietersen got to be shoulder to shoulder with him in the IPL 2025, and he also remarked about him, “I think somewhere along the way I lost that fun of hitting boundaries and hitting sixes. I wanted to take the game deep, deep, deep and that somehow stuck in my head. But now I have realised I need to go back... cricket's changed, and T20 cricket, especially, is only about hitting boundaries. The team that hits more boundaries and sixes ends up winning the game.”
