'Always a joker' - Kevin Pietersen ribs Ambati Rayudu for switching sides after IPL final

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) sealed a brilliant victory over the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Sunday night to lift their third IPL title. Following KKR’s one-sided dominance over Pat Cummins’ side, commentators Kevin Pietersen and Matthew Hayden were caught ribbing Ambati Rayudu in the post match show alongside Mayanti Langer.

Kevin Pietersen and Ambati Rayudu were seen wearing purple and orange outfits respectively before the game, showing their support for the finalists. Peitersen backed KKR to win the title while the former CSK man’s choice was SRH. 

Following the brutal thrashing of SRH in the final, Rayudu changed his orange waistcoat to wear a blue one, which was pointed out by Mayanti Langer. This provided the fellow presenters Matthew Hayden and Pietersen a chance to pull the legs of Rayudu.

READ MORE: Matthew Hayden is happy to see Babar Azam leading Pakistan again 

“I’ve at least held it firm. I wore it and I owned it. You are a joker, always a joker,” Pietersen said to Rayudu talking about his purple dress and trolling Rayudu for changing his orange waistcoat, to which Rayudu replied stating that he was only in support of good cricket. “I am supporting both the teams. I am supporting good cricket,” Rayudu said.

Further, Rayudu went on to hail Shreyas Iyer’s contribution in leading the team to a third title under the mentorship of Gautam Gambhir. KKR managed to put on consistent performances throughout the season, with all the players working as a single unit. 

“Shreyas Iyer has been tremendous in terms of leading KKR, and we should give him a lot of credit. He was not in the best of forms with the bat, but still, the way he has led the team, the way he has used his resources, is commendable,” Rayudu said. 

What did Ambati Rayudu say about Virat Kohli?

Rayudu’s statements in recent days have sparked controversy as the former MI and CSK batter has been taking shots at RCB’s talisman, Virat Kohli. Rayudu has mentioned that Kohli has high standards which is not healthy for the dressing room. 

READ MORE: Virat Kohli is in sensational form with the bat ahead of 2024 T20 WC

When you have a stalwart and a legend like Virat Kohli, who has set really high standards, it's very hard for the youngsters to be in a side like that and try and match that standard because he always wants the team to be performing at his level.

When Langer questioned Rayudu stating that Rajat Patidar had stepped for the team in recent match days, Rayudu said, “Patidar can only be a Patidar but not a Virat Kohli, and I think RCB, as management, understands that you cannot have 11 Virat Kohli in the team. You need to have 1 Virat Kohli with 10 others being themselves, having their own identities and strengths and weaknesses. And you need to use them well in terms of resources.”