(Image source from: Kevin Pietersen to captain Delhi Daredevils)

Abandoned by the England cricket board, Kevin Pietersen has now found a refuge in IPL's arms. The England discard has been put in charge of the Delhi Daredevils. Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik has been asked to assist him as the vice-captain in IPL VII.

Pietersen has been sensational in the T20s and was named 'Man of the tournament' in the 2010 World Twenty20 after he cinched the maiden ICC crown for his team.

Pietersen teamed up with Delhi Daredevils in 2012. In his eight-match outing with the team, the savvy cricketer had amassed 305 runs with an average of 61. He had to opt out of IPL VI owing to an injury. Pietersen went under the hammer for a cool Rs. 9 crore at the IPL auction last month.

After appointed as the captain of the Delhi Daredevils, Pietersen said, "I feel incredibly honored to have been asked to captain the Delhi Daredevils. I am very much looking forward to working alongside coach Gary Kirsten. We have a fantastic squad with a good blend of youth and experience and a brilliant coaching set up. We hope to bring our incredible fans a lot of happiness this season."

Karthik returns to the Daredevils family after having played for the franchise fin the first three IPLs. He was auctioned for Rs. 12.5 crore. The wicket-keeper batsman accumulated 1,741 runs in the 92 IPL appearances so far.

AW: Suchorita Choudhury