Injured Kevin Pietersen ruled out of Delhi’s opening IPL match

Dinesh Karthik to stand in as Daredevils captain in absence of former England batsman who has an injured finger.

There is no word on when Kevin Pietersen will return to the Delhi line-up. Saeed Khan / AFP

Kevin Pietersen, the Delhi Daredevils captain, has been ruled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise’s opening fixture on Thursday.

Pietersen, the former England middle-order batsman, opted out after sustaining an injury to his finger, according to an Delhi official.

Dinesh Karthik, the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman, will lead the team out to face Royal Challengers Bangalore in Sharjah.

“Kevin is still a few days away so he won’t be considered for tomorrow,” Eric Simons, Delhi’s assistant coach told reporters on Wednesday. “It is obviously a setback because he’s an important player in our set-up and an important player in any team. It is a difficult situation.”

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