Kevin Pietersen: ""Gujarat Titans are going to be difficult to stop in the IPL"" 

Former English skipper, Kevin Pietersen, spoke about IPL 2022 and Ben Stokes' appointment as England's test captain in an exclusive interview with Betway. Pietersen revealed how Gujarat Titans' success surprised him and why he believes KKR have a mess of their IPL campaign in 2022. He also presented his view on wrist spinners' dominance in the wickets column this season. Having led the English limited-overs team, Pietersen understands the honour and responsibility the job brings along with it. Thus, he has his say on Ben Stokes' appointment as the English test skipper and what he expects from him. 

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Gujarat Titans are a force to stop this season 

Pietersen believes that Gujarat Titans are the team to beat this year. 

The team is constantly finding its way to victory from good to worse situations and this is what Kevin thinks is their strength. Having a winning mentality is difficult to break. 

Just like a majority of the experts, Pietersen didn't expect them to sit at the top of the points table after the auction concluded earlier this year. The way GT are playing, reminds him of RR from IPL 2008 when nobody thought that Shane Warne led the side to lift the trophy. RR were certainly not the best side on paper but the players of their actions and had a great mentality. 

When a team is winning games the way GT is, the energy in the dressing room is always positive. Nobody talks about defeats and wears a happy smile on their face exuding positivity. Such an environment, according to Pieterson, allows the players to go out and express themselves freely. None of them feels inhibited and everybody trusts his instincts. 

Pietersen gave the example of Rashid Khan finishing the match against SRH recently. The positive attitude on Rashid's mind helped him pull off an unlikely chase that night. 

While talking about the teams he thinks could end up lifting the title, Pietersen expectedly did not miss out on Gujarat Titans. The other possible contenders according to Kevin are Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals. 

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KKR have a made a mess out of IPL 2022 for themselves 

Kevin believes KKR have ruined their season by making constant blunders on and off the field. He was there at the stadium when KKR crumbled to defeat against DC and he feels Mumbai Indians is not the only team that is looking helpless this season. 

KKR won three of their first four games but have lost their way completely since then. They've used 19 players so far, which is far too many. For a franchise as big as them, it's just a horrible state of affairs. The environment in the KKR dressing room is exactly the opposite of that in GT's dressing room, feels Pietersen. 

Kevin leapt praise for KKR's analyst from last season, Nathan Leamon, who invested his blood and time in KKR's magical run to the final. The way he was involved in the game by sending signals and matchup information was commendable. He believes their out-of-the-box thinking defined the latter half of IPL 2022. 

But the manner in which things have turned out this season, KKR have become Pietersen's second-biggest disappointment from IPL 2022 after MI. 

Wrist spin has been the key to teams' success this year 

Pietersen says that everyone was in awe of the hard and bouncy wickets made for IPL 2022 as they assist batters and intimidate the viewers as well. But if there is one thing that spinners love, is bounce. So it's no surprise that spin is having such a big say in this competition. The wickets chart clearly indicates so as the top two wicket-takers are wrist spinners. 

Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav has left Pietersen wanting more with his beautiful bowling this year. His comeback has been sensational. Kevin thinks orthodox spinners can be easier to line up, but mystery wrist spinners like Kuldeep and Yuzvendra Chahal are difficult to play. 

England team needs a leadership group with some gravitas and personality 

Kevin says that being appointed as England Test captain is an incredible honour. He feels Ben Stokes and his family would be incredibly proud of his promotion. 

Pietersen firmly believes that the England team needs a leadership group with some gravitas and personality. He did enjoy hearing Rob Key talk about getting the best coaching system in place to change the mentality of the team.  

The last year or so has been extremely poor for England. Even if the results were to be kept aside, it was their poor game that disappointed everyone a lot. They need to get the right personnel in charge, above the team, to make sure that the environment is right. 

For Pietersen, Rob Key and his words are a good start to the build-up process and he sees a confident and influential captain in Stokes. He personally wishes to see Graham Ford as the Test coach to complete the English test team's brain trust. 

"He is an incredible man-manager and he'll work with every player all day long. He'll give you throwdowns until dark and you can ring him at 2 am with any issue", said Pietersen. 

Kevin rates Rob very highly and thinks he's a fabulous leader who understands the game of cricket like no other. However, he feels it will be extremely difficult for Stokes and the new coach to overhaul the test setup. The overhaul should improve the quality of players coming through to benefit England in the longer run. The process will be tough, but Pietersen has all his best wishes for Ben Stokes.