The all-rounder scored 142 runs and scalped 11 wickets in the IPL 2025.
Delhi Capitals (DC) all-rounder Vipraj Nigam, who had a smashing debut season in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, has recently opened up on the guidance that he received from the former England player Kevin Pietersen. Notably, the 21-year-old scored 142 runs at a blistering strike rate of 179.75 and also scalped 11 wickets at an economy of 9.13.
“The best part was that I always had conversations with KP. Throughout the season, he used to think on a completely next level. You are thinking about the game in one way, but he’s thinking about it from a completely different angle. He would point out different things,” he told Cricxtasy.
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In the latest episode of The CX Pod – EXCLUSIVES, Vipraj explained the game-reading brilliance of the DC Mentor Pietersen. He spoke about how the former batter predicted all the shots of Rajasthan Royals (RR) prodigy, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, while watching their clash against the Punjab Kings (PBKS), whom DC were set to take on in their upcoming fixture.
“We were sitting in the dressing room and Vaibhav Suryavanshi was batting against Punjab. He was talking about what to do in the match, how to approach it, because after that we had a game against Punjab. Before every ball, Kevin Pietersen predicted beforehand, ‘He’s going to play this shot, and it’ll go for a boundary.’ From predicting the wicket to the six, he said everything one ball earlier. That shows how much cricket he has played, how deeply he understood the game,” he stated.
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Vipraj also elaborated on how the 45-year-old had built a strong camaraderie with the DC players in his maiden stint with the franchise. Pietersen blended in with the squad to create a relaxed and friendly environment, which also helped the youngsters to learn and express themselves on and off the field.
“Whenever someone asked KP to speak to the team as a mentor, he would always say just one thing, ‘I am not a mentor and I’m still a player.’ He never behaved like a mentor or a coach. He was always joking around with us, making the atmosphere lighter. There are so many DC videos of him doing those things on the ground. Because of that, it always felt like—yes, there is a set standard for coaches, but he never maintained that distance,” added the all-rounder.
After 10 years of international cricket, since his debut against Zimbabwe in 2004, Pietersen decided to hang up his boots in 2014. But the DC all-rounder revealed how much passion the ex-England batter still carries for the game. Vipraj discussed how Pietersen used to join the players during their net sessions to hit a few balls alongside the youngsters of the team.
“During warm-ups, when we were practicing, he would grab a bat and hit in the nets. It wasn’t even about facing bowlers, just hitting around casually while we warmed up. It always felt like he wanted to play a bit of cricket himself. Even during our training sessions, he would join us,” he stressed.
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