Kevin Pietersen's Light-Hearted 'Joker' Comment To Ambati Rayudu In IPL 2024 Final

Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen called former Indian batter Ambati Rayudu a "joker" during a humorous interaction on Star Sports' post-IPL 2024 Final show on Sunday, May 26.

In the IPL 2024 final, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) secured an 8-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. This win marked KKR's third Indian Premier League title and their first since 2014.

Following the match, Pietersen labelled Rayudu a joker moments after they were joined by KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan. Khan was doing a lap around the ground, expressing gratitude to the players and fans.

Rayudu, a former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) player, has been upset since Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) eliminated CSK from the competition. He has been taking jabs at RCB and their fans both on-air and on social media, where he has also faced some trolling.

Before the final, Rayudu, who also played for Mumbai Indians and won six IPL titles in his career, commented that the Orange Cap does not win you the IPL. This was seen as another dig at Virat Kohli and RCB.

"It's not the Orange Cap that wins you the IPL but it is the contributions like 300 runs each (of many players)," Rayudu said during the pre-match show on Star Sports.

All commentators wore special purple and orange attire for the final, matching the colours of KKR and SRH. Pietersen made the light-hearted remark after Rayudu switched his outfit from orange to blue during the match.

Rayudu, who has been supporting SRH due to his Hyderabad connection in domestic cricket, initially sported orange before the match started but switched to purple after SRH folded for 113 all out.

"You're a joker!" Pietersen told Rayudu on air during the Star Sports Cricket Live show, referring to Rayudu's change of colours after SRH's loss. "I, at least, held firm," Pietersen added as he stuck to his light purple attire from the start.

The exchange saw Matthew Hayden and Mayanti Langer, who were present alongside, break into laughter as the banter continued throughout most of the post-final show.