Legendary Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid has made a comeback to the Indian Premier League (IPL) by joining the Rajasthan Royals as their head coach.
After a seven-year absence due to a conflict of interest, Dravid has returned to the IPL. Previously, Dravid served as the head coach of the India U-19 and India A teams. Faced with a choice between IPL and Team India, Dravid opted to continue his role with the BCCI’s national teams. In 2019, he became the National Cricket Academy (NCA) chief, and couple of years later, he was appointed as the head coach of the Indian national team.
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Under Dravid’s guidance, India achieved significant success, reaching the finals of the 2023 World Test Championship and the 50-over World Cup. But it all culminated with India’s victorious campaign at 2024 T20 World Cup, which also marked the end of their ICC title drought. Dravid’s illustrious stint as India’s head coach came to an end after India’s T20 World Cup title triumph, which was no less than a fairytale ending for the batting great.
Nobody knew what he is planning next, until reunited with RR as their head coach with IPL 2025 mega auction around the corner. But it’s hard to believe that ‘the Wall’ didn’t receive offer from other IPL franchises.
According to Cricbuzz, several high-profile IPL franchises offered lucrative contracts to Rahul Dravid. However, he remained committed to the Rajasthan Royals. The report also suggest that the former India head coach was offered blank cheques from top IPL franchises to work with them, but Dravid, being Dravid chose to stay with the title-winners of inaugural season of the IPL.
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Rahul Dravid’s association with the Rajasthan Royals dates back to the IPL 2011 mega-auction, where he was acquired by the franchise. He played for the Royals for three seasons before taking on the role of head coach in 2014 and 2015. Following Rajasthan Royals’ two-year ban in 2016 and 2017, Dravid joined the Delhi Capitals. After completing his coaching duties with the Indian national team, Dravid decided to return to the Rajasthan Royals. He will now be working alongside Kumar Sangakkara, who will continue to serve as the franchise’s director of cricket.
“Rahul is one of the greatest players to have played the game, but what he has achieved over the past decade as a coach is extraordinary. The characteristics that he possesses as a coach to nurture talent but also enable them to consistently perform at the highest level, will allow the Rajasthan Royals to further challenge for the title. I’ve already had some meaningful conversations with him about his vision for this team, and he is looking forward to delivering the results for the Royals,” Sangakkara said in RR’s release.
It will be interesting to see whether Dravid can turn RR’s fortune in IPL 2025 and end their title drought.
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