'Thanks India' - Kevin Pietersen returns home after a commentary stint in IPL 2022

Former England cricketer and commentator Kevin Pietersen has left the commentary panel for the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL). It may be noted that the veteran batter joined the commentary team in mid-April and since then he has been giving his views during commentary apart from participating in group discussions and doing pitch reports.

Pietersen gave the information about leaving the tournament through a tweet on the micro-blogging site on May 9 (Monday). Meanwhile, IPL 2022 is about to enter the ending stage with 19 matches left in the tournament with the finals slated to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on May 29 (Sunday).

Kevin Pietersen shared a photo from the airport on Monday

“back home! Thanks again, India. It’s always so special to be here” Kevin Pietersen wrote on his official Twitter handle. 

🛫 back home!
Thanks again, India. It’s always so special to be here! 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/GcE3MR4DML

— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) May 9, 2022

Talking about Kevin Pietersen’s IPL experience as a player, the former cricketer played for five editions in the toughest franchise-based league. The right-handed batter made his debut in IPL 2009 as he represented Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) against Rajasthan Royals (RR). Other than representing the Red Army, Pietersen also played for Delhi Capitals (then Delhi Daredevils) and Rising Pune Super Giants (RPSG). His last game in IPL was in 2016 when he played for RPSG against the first franchise. The right-handed batter played a total of 36 IPL games where he amassed 1001 runs and took seven wickets.

Talking about his international numbers, the 41-year-old represented England in 104 Tests and 136 ODIs respectively and scored 8181 and 4440 runs. In T20Is, he played 37 matches and amassed a total of 1176 runs at a decent average of 37.94. He also stroked seven fifties in the 20-over format.

Coming back to IPL, the five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) will take on the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Match 56 of IPL 2022. The match will be played at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy Mumbai on May 9 (Monday). Both teams are not having a good time in IPL 2022 and will desperately want to win tonight’s encounter.