Pietersen urged Kohli to go back to his roots and join this franchise.
This meant that it was the 17th time Virat Kohli returned empty handed from IPL. He does have the Orange Cap for most runs as Kohli finished with 741 runs in 15 matches in IPL 2024.
Following the match, former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen suggested that it might be time for Kohli to consider moving to another franchise to fulfill his dream of winning an IPL trophy. He emphasized that great athletes in various sports have changed teams to achieve their goals, and Kohli might need to do the same.
"I have said it before and I will say it again — the greats of the game in other sports have left teams to go and seek glory somewhere else. When he has tried and tried so hard — won the Orange Cap yet again and done so much yet again, and the franchise fails again. I understand for the brand of the team and the commercial value he brings to the team... But Virat Kohli deserves a trophy. He deserves to play in a team that could help him to get that trophy," Pietersen said on Star Sports.
Pietersen then highlighted that Kohli has his roots in Delhi and should join Delhi Capitals. He cited parallels with sports greats such as David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Harry Kane, who transferred teams to attain greater success.
"I actually think it should be Delhi. Delhi is the place where Virat needs to go. Virat can go away and stay at home most of the time, I know he has a home in Delhi. He has a young family. He can spend more time there. He is a Delhi boy. Why can't he go back? Delhi are as desperate as Bengaluru," he added.
RR, meanwhile, will now face SRH on Friday in the Qualifier 2 in Chennai’s Chepauk Stadium. The winner of this match will then take on KKR in the IPL 2024 final on Sunday, also in Chennai.