IPL 2025: Rahul Dravid rejoined the Rajasthan Royals a month after wrapping up a fruitful tenure as head coach of the senior national men’s team of India. As head coach, the former cricket player will lead the 2008 IPL champions in 2025.
Rahul Dravid has been named the head coach of the Rajasthan Royals for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Dravid will take over as head coach of the club immediately, according to a release, and he will be heavily involved in the 2025 season’s planning, including the next super auction.
Dravid, who managed India’s victory in the T20 World Cup in July, will be joining the team again for the first time since 2015. Before joining the Delhi Capitals in 2014, Dravid coached and oversaw the Royals in the IPL in 2012 and 2013.
In addition, he served as Director of Cricket between 2014 and 2015. Before assuming the position of India U19 coach in 2019, Dravid led the IPL for an additional four seasons.
Dravid’s three-year term as head coach of the senior national men’s team concluded in July, and the Rajasthan position will mark his first professional task since then. The franchise is getting preparing for the retention and auction that will take place later this year, and Dravid has already spoken with Sangakkara and the other members of the management group.
I’m happy to be going back to the franchise that I used to call “home” for many years. The Royals are the right site for me to take on a new challenge after the World Cup, in my opinion,” Dravid stated in a release.
Manoj, Jake, Kumar, and the staff have put in a great deal of effort and thought into the advancements the franchise has made in recent years. With the skills and resources we have at our disposal, it’s an exciting chance for us to take our team to the next level, and he said, “I’m looking forward to getting started.”
There were several rumors that Rahul Dravid might replace Kumar Sangakkara with the Royals. The 2008 winners, though, have stated unequivocally that Sangakkara will remain Director of Cricket.
Although Rahul is among the best players to have ever played the game, his accomplishments as a coach over the last ten years have been truly remarkable. The Rajasthan Royals will be able to make more runs for the championship thanks to his abilities as a coach, which include developing talent and allowing players to perform at the greatest level regularly. Sangakkara welcomed Dravid back to the Royals and stated, “I’ve already had some meaningful conversations with him about his vision for this team. He is eager to provide the Royals with the desired outcomes.”
Rahul Dravid’s T20I coaching abilities came under scrutiny following India’s 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final defeat. Nevertheless, the renowned batter disproved his doubters by helping India win the T20 World Cup in 2024. The fact that the win occurred months after India’s devastating loss in the ODI World Cup final while his leadership made it noteworthy.
The Royals Sports Group CEO, Jake Lush McCrum, emphasized how his leadership had changed Indian cricket and expressed the team’s excitement at having the veteran return to the team.
Rahul’s return to the team fills us with great pleasure. The revolution he has brought about in Indian cricket is proof of his extraordinary teaching ability. He said that we’ve seen his intense devotion to the franchise shine through in every conversation.
The Rajasthan Royals have only made it to the IPL playoffs twice in the previous six seasons. They did, however, begin to play more consistently recently, making it to the final in 2022 and the play-offs in 2024, where they finished third captained by Sanju Samson.
