Rahul Dravid Poised to Become Rajasthan Royals Head Coach: Report

The former India captain and head coach Rahul Dravid is all set to become Rajasthan Royals head coach ahead of the IPL 2025. Dravid's tenure as India men's head coach came to an end after the side won 2024 Men's T20 World Cup win at Barbados in June this year. As per an ESPNCricinfo report, Dravid recently signed a deal with the 2008 IPL-winning franchise and had preliminary discussions on player retentions ahead of the forthcoming mega auction. Dravid, had earlier led the franchise in the 2012 and 2013 seasons of the cash-rich league after being traded there in 2011.

After his playing days were over, Dravid went on to be the mentor of the side during the 2014 and 2015 IPL seasons before being the same with the Delhi Capitals until he took up the role of National Cricket Academy [NCA] director in 2019. Dravid also has a good and long understanding with the current RR captain, wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, who came through the ranks at the franchise and in the Indian team set-up under him.

Also, the report states that RR are likely to sign former India cricketer Vikram Rathour as one of the assistant coaches to Dravid. Rathour, also a former India selector, was part of Dravid's coaching staff at NCA before he became India's batting coach in 2019.

Till date, Kumar Sangakkara has played the role of the de-facto head coach for the franchise, as its director of cricket since 2021. Even after the possible signing of Dravid, the report claimed Sangakkara will stay on with their franchise and look into their teams in the other leagues – Paarl Royals in the SA20 and Barbados Royals in the CPL.

RR's second-best finish since that triumph in IPL 2008 was a runners-up position in 2022, where they came second best to the Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad. After a bright start of the season in IPL 2023, RR eventually finished fifth before managing to enter the playoffs in IPL 2024, where they were eliminated by Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2.