Recently, English cricketing legend Kevin Pietersen spoke of his views about the ongoing IPL and generally about English cricket with him talking about who he thinks will be the winning team in IPL 2022
He is a known voice on the subject of cricket on Twitter. Furthermore, he is present on various commentary panels for T20 leagues around the world such as Big Bash and IPL.
Kevin Pietersen Makes Prediction Of The Winning Team In IPL 2022
Pietersen picks his favorite team for IPL 2022
He believes that Gujarat Titans are best suited to make the top of the league and they are the best suited for this. His analysis seems to be accurate as the new entrant in the league is the first to qualify in this year’s IPL with 18 points from 12 games.
He made a correlation to Shane Warne’s Rajasthan Royals team. In 2008, they won the inaugural IPL trophy. He compared Gujarat Titans to the 2008 Rajasthan Royals team. They were not the strongest team on paper but still did their work well and also had splendid mentality to win. Gujarat Titans similarly have done their processes well and ensured wins from not comfortable places.
He emphasized about the importance of positive attitude to keep the changing room happy. He cited the example of Rashid Khan who had a positive attitude and held his nerve to take his team over the line against Sunrisers Hyderabad which was nail biter.
Kolkata Knight Riders riddled with issues
He was extremely critical of how KKR have managed their campaign till now. He said that the planning, strategy and execution for the franchise has been dreadful. He stated that a squad size of 19 was significant and yet they were unable to perform. They managed to win the first 3 games but have steadily declined ever since.
Their current position does not inspire much confidence and their chances of making it to the play-offs seem bleak. He said that the KKR changing room is exactly opposite of what is the case with Gujarat Titans. He said that the KKR change room had – negative, negative, negative energy.
The importance of wrist spin in this IPL
The prominence of wrist spin has been immense in world cricket in the past few years and Pietersen seemed to echo similar emotion. He said that the pitches are hard, bouncy and is allowing entertaining games. However, spinners love bounce and that is the reason they are at the forefront of wicket-takers.
He praised Kul-Cha, i.e. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal for regaining their form and putting up extraordinary performances in the IPL. The two of them are in the top 5 wicket takers and are running for the purple cap.
Pietersen drew a differentiation between orthodox spinners who are easier to pick and wrist spinners like Kul-Cha who are more difficult to pick.
ECB gets it spot-on with Ben Stokes as captain
Recently there was much conjecture abut England test captaincy after Joe Root made a shocking revelation about stepping down from the position. There was a period in the middle when the ECB were in the look-out for a replacement.
A week or so back they announced that Ben Stokes would be given the role of England’s test captaincy. This was welcomed with much anticipation and excitement by the fans.
Pietersen took to Twitter to congratulate him and reiterated what a honour it was and how his family was proud of him. Pietersen further said that he believed that England are in need of a leadership group in their test side. A towering personality who can guide the team is the need of the hour.
He criticized the level of cricket recently and called it “rubbish”. He called the state of affairs gloomy. However, he felt that they have now got the right personality and just needed the right environment.
He said, “He’s a fabulous leader who understands the game of cricket like no other. Ultimately, though, Stokes and the new coach will be hamstrung until a radical overhaul of the system improves the quality of players coming through.”
He, however, wished Stokes the best and hoped that the English test squad have turn around sooner than later.