In a season characterized by lofty expectations but plagued by challenges, Rajasthan Royals (RR) head coach Rahul Dravid has openly expressed his disappointment after their recent loss to Punjab Kings. The defeat is RR's tenth in the IPL 2025 season, which has left them ranked ninth on the points table.
Dravid referred to areas of deficiency across all areas of the team, emphasizing that their overall performance has been below what was expected.
Even though the season commenced on a promising note—fueled by a scintillating century by the young gun Vaibhav Suryavanshi—RR has struggled with inconsistency, particularly in death bowling and middle-order batting.
Bearing in mind the 8-wicket loss against Punjab Kings, Dravid accepted the flaws of the team by stating, "There's no use just blaming the batsman. I think with the ball too, to be honest, I didn't feel it was a 220 wicket, it was somewhere around a 195, 200 wicket, and we conceded 20 runs more."
He further went on to say, "If you consider the statistics, we might not have been good enough with the ball. At both taking wickets and taking runs in check. We are chasing 200-220 every match."
Dravid pointed out that persistently conceding additional runs has made it ever more challenging for the batting order to pursue competitive scores. He also noted that the team often were in promising situations but were unable to capitalize—especially in the lower-middle order, where there has been a shortage of playing big shots.
He conceded, "It's been a difficult one. We've had close, but we haven't been able to get the job done. It's been one of those type of seasons where you're always in with the ball that we likely give 15-20 runs extra and then you put yourself in some really good positions to win the games, but we haven't been able to get the job done and a bit around that lower, lower-middle order we just haven't been able to get the big shots that we require.
One of the biggest issues for RR all season has been their death bowling. In match-winning contests against Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals, the team has given away more than 70 runs in the last five overs, highlighting the urgent need for better execution under pressure. Dravid noted that the bowling plans overall have been good but the on-field execution has been poor, something that has cost them heavily.
The team's problems have even made front page news with legends in cricket like Sunil Gavaskar criticizing them over their lack of strategic thinking, even with Rahul Dravid as coach. Gavaskar said, "With someone like Rahul Dravid as the coach, it was quite baffling, it was unthinking cricket." He questioned the tactics of the team in important situations, suggesting fundamental strategic problems.
In the midst of chaos, teenage sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi has been a ray of hope. At 14 years of age, his blazing 35-ball century against Gujarat Titans made headlines and revealed his phenomenal potential. Yet, he has also seen failures, such as a two-ball duck while facing Mumbai Indians, demonstrating the mercurial nature of professional cricket. Dravid has called for fans and commentators to have realistic expectations and to keep following the teenager through thick and thin.
Dravid considered, "I mean, it's now five games where the margins have been really one or two hits which you require in that stage, which we just haven't been able to achieve. So it's not that we've lost too many wickets, we're still only five down today, but we just haven't been able to strike those shots."
As Rajasthan Royals prepare for their last season game against Chennai Super Kings, their aim is to get some pride and avoid being at the bottom of the points table. Dravid's leadership and experience will be crucial in getting out of this difficult period. The results of the season require serious introspection and strategic adjustments to develop a more robust and consistent team in the future.
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