IPL 2025 Coaching Staff Updates: Kevin Pietersen joins Delhi Capitals, while Sairaj Bahutule takes up a role with Rajasthan Royals.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season is fast approaching, and with it comes a flurry of activity off the field as franchises work to finalise their coaching staff. A strong support staff is crucial in shaping a team’s success, and several IPL teams have made exciting new appointments to boost their chances in the upcoming season. From experienced international coaches to former players stepping into mentorship roles, these changes are set to play a significant role in the teams’ strategies and performances. Let’s take a closer look at some of the notable coaching additions and what they bring to their respective franchises.
Delhi Capitals name Matthew Mott as assistant coach, Kevin Pietersen as mentor
Delhi have a completely new look to the support staff. After naming Hemang Badani as head coach last year, Delhi have named successful international coach Matthew Mott as assistant coach. Mott has a long list of coaching successes, guiding the Australia women’s team to two World T20 titles, an ODI World Cup trophy, and four Ashes wins. He also coached England’s men’s team to the 2022 World T20 title.
What Mott brings to the table
Delhi have seen few close misses over the years and never laid hands on the trophy. Mott, who comes with a lot of experience coaching teams to titles, could bring in the winning mentality into the squad. He could make the team manifest about lifting the IPL title that has eluded them forever.
Read More: Who are the new captains in IPL 2025?
Kevin Pietersen as mentor
Delhi Capitals have also named their former player Pietersen as the mentor. The former England player is expected to mentor the players, sharing his experience of being a successful cricketer and how his players too can replicate that in the IPL. A mentor could play a large role in keeping the squad motivated, just as Gautam Gambhir did with Kolkata Knight Riders in the last season. Hence, Pietersen has been a great choice as Delhi’s mentor who could help his team play a unique, aggressive brand of cricket in IPL that he was known for during his playing days.
Rajasthan Royals appoint Sairaj Bahutule as spin bowling coach
Former Indian leg spinner Sairaj Bahutule will work under Rajasthan Royals head coach Rahul Dravid in IPL 2025. Bahutule brings with him a wealth of experience, having taken over 600 First Class wickets and made over 6000 runs. He also had a successful stint as a coach before, where he mentored state teams such as Mumbai, Bengal and Kerala. He had also worked with the national men’s team as well. For Bahutule, it is a homecoming to Rajasthan, as he was part of the support staff from 2018 to 2021. As the wicket will tend to go slower as the tournament progresses, spin will hold their own. And that’s where Bahutule’s rich experience will come into play, where he can guide his spinners to pluck out wickets.
Chennai makes Sridharan Sriram as assistant bowling coach
After Dwayne Bravo parted ways with CSK, the Chennai Super Kings were looking for an assistant bowling coach to keep the players at the top of their performance in terms of the bowling department. CSK have hired former Indian cricketer Sridharan Sriram for that post. Sriram had a successful first-class career and an even better coaching stint. He was the assistant coach of Australia, which won the 2021 Men’s World T20 title. He has even worked with a few franchises, such as RCB and LSG, before. He is expected to work with CSK spinners R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Shreyas Gopal to enhance their performances. Sriram will work under head coach Stephen Fleming.
Read More: IPL 2025: Delhi Capitals squad complete analysis, Probable playing XI
