Former England skipper and star-batsman Kevin Pietersen has been named as captain of Vijay Mallya's Indian Premier League franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). The right-handed batsman will replace Indian Rahul Dravid, who captained RCB in last year's tournament. In the recent auction in February, the Royal Challengers set a new IPL record when they bought Pietersen for a whopping price of $1.55m (£1.1m).

 

Under Dravid's leadership, the RCB finished second bottom in the last year's inaugural season of the IPL T20 tournament. This dismal performance prompted franchise owner Mallya to change the captaincy of his team. Pietersen will only be available for the first three weeks of the IPL in line with an agreement, England players have with the England and Wales Cricket Board. In his absence South African Jacques Kallis will take over the captaincy of the side for the second half of the tournament. However, Dravid will continue as a playing member of the team. 

 

In January this year, Pietersen resigned as England captain in the wake of a rift with coach Peter Moores. His record stands as one win, one draw and one defeat from his three Test matches in charge. His one-day record as captain reads as won four and lost five.