Former India cricketer Rahul Dravid is set to join Rajasthan Royals (RR) as their new head coach for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. This move follows the conclusion of his tenure as India’s coach after their triumph in the ICC T20 World Cup in June 2024.
According to ESPNcricinfo, the 51-year-old has recently signed a contract with the Rajasthan-based franchise and has begun discussions on player retention as they prepare for the upcoming Mega Auction. Dravid has a longstanding connection with RR captain Sanju Samson, who developed under his guidance in the under-19 ranks. He has a well-established connection with RR captain Sanju Samson, who fostered his career under his guidance in the under-19 ranks.
“The talks have reached the final stages and he will soon step into the head coach job,” a source close to the development told PTI.
Dravid has previously been associated with RR, captaining the side in IPL 2012 and 2013. He later served as team director and mentor during the 2014 and 2015 editions. In the following year, he joined Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) and was later appointed as the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru in 2019. He took up the coaching role of the India men’s team in 2021 and guided them to their first ICC title in 11 years before concluding his three-year contract.
Apart from Dravid, RR are planning to bring on former India batter Vikram Rathour as one of the assistant coaches. Rathour, who was also a former national selector, was part of Dravid’s coaching staff at the NCA before he was appointed as India’s batting coach in 2019.
Notably, if Dravid will take over RR’s head coach role for the IPL 2025 season, Kumar Sangakkara, who has been serving the team as their Director of Cricket since 2021, will remain with the franchise. The former Sri Lankan will focus on overseeing RR’s teams in other leagues, including a more active role with the Barbados Royals in the Caribbean Premier League and the Paarl Royals in the SA20.
In addition, RR haven’t won the IPL title since their victory in the inaugural edition in 2008. Notably, their best performance since then was as runners-up in 2022, losing to the Gujarat Titans in the finals. Meanwhile, they did not qualify for the playoffs in 2023, finishing fifth despite a solid start to the season. However, they earned a playoff spot in 2024 but were eliminated in Qualifier 2.