Rahul Dravid to return to Rajasthan Royals as head coach

Rahul Dravid is all set to return to Rajasthan Royals as the head coach, ESPN Cricinfo reported on Wednesday. Dravid recently completed his stint with the Indian team after taking the team to glory in the T20 World Cup 2024.

Under Dravid’s tutelage, India qualified for the semifinals of the T20 World Cup 2022, the final of the World Test Championship, and the final of the ODI World Cup.

Meanwhile, Dravid served as RR’s captain in the 2012 and 2013 seasons and then took over the team director and mentor role for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. The former Indian skipper will take over the coaching baton from Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara, who has been serving as the Director of Cricket since 2021. The former Sri Lanka wicket-keeper bat will continue with Paarl Royals in the SA20 and Barbados Royals in the CPL.

In 2016, Dravid also served as Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) mentor. Subsequently, he took over as India Under-19 and India A coach. He took the team to the final of the Under-19 World Cup and guided the team of young colts to glory in 2018.

On the other hand, Dravid also shares a great bond with RR captain Sanju Samson, who he had backed in the early part of his career. It has been also reported that India’s former batting coach Vikram Rathour will be one of the assistant coaches for RR in the upcoming season.

Dravid will look to get the best out of the players at Rajasthan Royals and there will be huge expectations from him as the franchise last won the IPL title in the inaugural season of 2008.