Rahul Dravid set to return to Rajasthan Royals as head coach

Rahul Dravid's tenure as India's head coach ended on a memorable note as the Men in Blue won the T20 World Cup after 17 years in June. Now, the legendary cricketer is set to reunite with Rajasthan Royals (RR) ahead of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.

Dravid recently signed a contract with the franchise and has had initial conversations on player retentions ahead of the impending mega auction. He has a long-standing working relationship with talismanic Royals captain Sanju Samson, who came through the under-19 ranks under Dravid's guidance.

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Dravid's relationship with the Royals goes back to 2011, when he was roped in at the auction to play for the franchise. He also captained the inaugural champions in 2012 and 2013 before taking up the role of a mentor ahead of the 2014 edition of the cash-rich league.

In 2016, Dravid moved to Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) until he became the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru in 2019. In 2021, he was appointed head coach of the India men's team and ended his three-year stint with their first ICC title in 11 years. Now, he is all set to serve as the head coach of Rajasthan Royals.

It is understood RR are also likely to acquire the services of former India batter Vikram Rathour as one of Dravid's assistant coaches. Rathour, a former India selector, was part of Dravid's coaching staff at NCA before becoming India's batting coach in 2019.

The report further states that Dravid will be spearheading Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, while Kumar Sangakkara, who has been their director of cricket since 2021, will continue with their franchise and take care of the other teams under the Royals umbrella - SA20 side Paarl Royals and CPL side Barbados Royals. However, reports have also emerged of Kolkata Knight Riders planning to acquire the former Sri Lankan captain's services.

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RR have not won the IPL title since the first season in 2008. In 2022, they produced their second-best finish as they lost to debutants Gujarat Titans in the final. They couldn't progress beyond the round-robin phase of the tournament in IPL 2023 after squandering a great start. This year, they won eight out of their first nine games but failed to win any of their remaining five games in the league phase. Samson and Co. had to be content with a spot in the Eliminator, where they beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru before crashing out with a loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad.