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.
AUSA-W
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INDA-W
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NDT
172/6
EDR
174/3
East Delhi Riders beat New Delhi Tigers by 7 wickets
NDS
163/7
ODW
144/9
North Delhi Strikers beat Outer Delhi Warriors by 19 runs
PD
–
WDL
–
CDK
–
SDS
–
CRO
–
CYP
–
CRO
–
CYP
–
WIM
128/7
LCC
127/7
Wimbledon beat London County Cricket by 3 wickets
KSP
98/7
LCC
139/10
London County Cricket beat Kreative Sports XI by 41 runs
WIM
155/6
CPP
120/6
Wimbledon beat CFS Pinnacle Pro by 35 runs
CPP
162/5
KSP
164/4
Kreative Sports XI beat CFS Pinnacle Pro by 2 runs
WIM
150/3
KSP
171/6
Kreative Sports XI beat Wimbledon by 21 runs
ESM
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LCC
–
KSP
–
SPE
–
BAN
–
CPP
–
WIM
–
WEY
–
MID
289/7
SOM
293/4
Somerset beat Middlesex by 6 wickets
SURR
174/10
LEI
179/4
Leicestershire beat Surrey by 6 wickets
SUSS
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KENT
–
GLAM
–
DER
–
NOT
–
WOR
–
HAM
–
ESS
–
SWE
–
FRA
–
GTC
65/9
GUG
69/1
Guwahati Giants beat Gauhati Town Club by 9 wickets
BCC
98/10
CCC
105/10
City Cricket Club beat Bud Cricket Club by 7 runs
91YC
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NVR
–
NAJC
–
GTC
–
KUMS
83/1
CEC-A
82/10
Kuwait Swedish beat CECC by 9 wickets
PCR
106/7
BNC
103/5
Phoenix Cricketers beat Bader & Nie Cricket Club by 3 runs
BCC
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GUJCC
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KRMPS
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KZK
–
SEL
211/2
MEL
85/10
Selangor beat Melaka by 126 runs
JOR
128/4
PHG
127/8
Johor beat Pahang by 6 wickets
PRK
198/7
PENG
98/8
Perak beat Penang by 100 runs
KLPR
245/2
PUT
56/5
Kuala Lumpur beat Putrajaya by 76 runs (D/L) method
HTW
163/5
MDW
128/8
Hubli Tigers Women beat Mangalore Dragons Women by 35 runs
SHLW
113/7
MWW
140/6
Mysore Warriors Women beat Shivamogga Lioness Women by 27 runs
BBW
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HTW
–
MWW
–
MDW
–
ZIM
–
NZ
–
IRE-W
142/10
PAK-W
131/9
Ireland Women beat Pakistan Women by 11 runs
SLBL
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SLGR
–
MAO
131/4
SOB
133/9
Southern Brave won by 1 wicket
NOS
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WEF
–
MOW-W
95/8
SBW-W
96/4
Southern Brave Women beat Manchester Originals Women by 6 wickets
NOS-W
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WFW-W
–
AUST
–
NOR
–
SWE
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FRA
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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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