As per reports from ESPNCricinfo, Rahul Dravid, the former Indian cricketer and Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team, has been appointed as the head coach of Rajasthan Royals. This comes after, Kumar Sangakkara, the former head coach of RR has moved on from his post. Dravid’s contract with the BCCI ended after the T20 World Cup final in 2024.
Under his guidance, Team India qualified for the semi final of the T20 World Cup in 2022, final of the ICC World Test Championship in 2023, final of the ODI World Cup 2023 in India and now won the T20 World Cup in 2024.
Dravid has good relationship with RR captain, Sanju Samson, as he came up the ranks under him in India’s U-19 team. Dravid has also served as a mentor and also played for them in the IPL. The report states that he has already had conversations with the franchise owners regarding the retentions ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.
Rahul Dravid replaces Kumar Sangakkara as head coach of RR
Rahul Dravid has replaced Kumar Sangakkara to become the new head coach of RR (Image Credits: X)
RR are also set to sign Vikram Rathour as an assistant coach in their franchise. Rathour had earlier been part of Dravid’s coaching staff in the NCA and also served as India’s batting coach. RR have not been champions of the IPL since the inaugural tournament in 2008. They qualified for the final in 2022 but lost to Gujarat Titans. In 2023, they failed to make it to the playoffs. They, however, did manage to qualify for the playoffs in the 2024 season but lost in the Qualifier 2.
The task will definitely be tough for Dravid. However, given his experience and success, the former India head coach will definitely be of major importance to the franchise in the upcoming IPL seasons. It remains to be seen if RR’s fortune changes after the arrival of Dravid as the Head Coach.
