Former England skipper Kevin Pietersen was named the captain of Bangalore Royal Challengers replacing Rahul Dravid.

Dravid's performance came under severe attack during the inaugural edition of the IPL.

The announcement was made by owner of the team Vijay Mallya who said the decision was taken in consultation with Dravid who is right now away playing the Test series against New Zealand.

Dravid will not play in IPL

Dravid, who was sarcastically referred to as Test player in the slam-bang version of the game last year, will not play for the entire tournament as his wife is expecting their child.

The team will be led by Pietersen for the first phase of the second edition of IPL until he leaves at the end of April following which South African Jacques Kallis will assume captaincy.

Mallya told reporters that "this decision was taken after extensive consultations with Rahul Dravid and it was not an easy one.

"We have a wealth of talent and expertise in our team and have six international captains to choose from," he added.

"The decision on captaincy was taken by keeping into account three considerations. One, player's availability during each phase of the tournament; two, flexibility in selection of playing squad during the phases; and three, the fact that Dravid will not be available due to personal reasons for the entire tournament," Mallya said.

"I have spoken to Kevin"

Mallya said Pietersen has accepted taking over the captaincy of the Bangalore Royal Challengers.

"I have spoken to Kevin. He has accepted the captaincy. So there is no question of Kevin not coming to play in the IPL. Otherwise, he would not have accepted the captaincy," Mallya said.

"We have a balanced team now and want to be a championship contender this time," he added.

Asked about the uncertainty over holding the IPL itself, Mallya said, "I don't believe IPL will be cancelled. Too many stakeholders will be disappointed if it is cancelled. I think a solution will be found."

Mallya also disclosed that his team broke even last year itself and he would hope to earn some profit this season.