IPL 2020: Kevin Pietersen makes an exit from the commentary panel; reveals the reason on Twitter

Veteran England all-rounder Kevin Pietersen left the commentary panel for the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with immediate effect. Kevin was a part of the commentary box and had entertained the viewers for the first half of the T20 extravaganza but couldn’t continue as he prioritized his family over work. On Friday, the former England cricketer flew back to his home in London to spend time with his family, especially his children.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) clashed with the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) on October 15 (Thursday), which the latter had won by 8 wickets was Kevin’s last fixture as the member of the commentary panel appointed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

In his IPL career of 8 years, Pietersen had players for four franchises namely Deccan Chargers, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad garnering 1001 runs in 36 fixtures at an average of 37.1 and strike rate of 134.7. The South Africa-born has recently traded his bat with a microphone.

Revealing the news of him leaving the commentator duties for the 2020 edition of the T20 Championship mid-way, Kevin had written on his official Twitter handle that its half term for his kids and he is looking forward to spending time with them after this strange year. Notably, Pietersen has two kids with his singer wife Jessica Taylor.

“I left the IPL as it’s half term for my kids and I want to be at home with them. It’s been a strange year, so now they’re off school, I want to be with them all day, everyday,” the 40-year-old tweeted.

I left the IPL as it’s half term for my kids and I want to be at home with them. It’s been a strange year, so now they’re off school, I want to be with them all day, everyday. 🙏🏽

— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) October 16, 2020

Revised list of stalwarts in the commentary panel

After the exit of Kevin Pietersen from the commentary panel, the official broadcasters of IPL, STAR released the revised list of the commentators. In a situation when the matches are being played behind closed doors these commentators for the official broadcasters add life to the game besides the players giving it their all on the cricket field.

English: Harsha Bhogle, Simon Doull, Murali Kartik, Sunil Gavaskar, Ian Bishop, Michael Slater, Danny Morrison, Pommie Mbangwa, Deep Dasgupta, Rohan Gavaskar, Darren Ganga, L Sivaramakrishnan, Anjum Chopra, Lisa Sthalekar, Mark Nicholas, Kumar Sangakkara and JP Duminy.

Hindi: Ashish Nehra, Aakash Chopra, Ajit Agarkar, Irfan Pathan, Gautam Gambhir, Nikhil Chopra, Sandeep Patil, Sanjay Bangar and Kiran More.