Batting legend Rahul Dravid is reportedly planning a return to the Indian Premier League and is currently in discussion with the Rajasthan Royals to become their next head coach. Dravid recently concluded his tenure as the head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team, which came to an end with the 2024 T20 World Cup. An official announcement regarding his new position is anticipated soon.
“Talks are going on between RR and Dravid, and an announcement in this regard is round the corner,” a source was quoted saying to The Times of India.
This would not be the first time the former Indian batsman will be associated with the former IPL champions. Dravid had earlier represented the Rajasthan Royals as captain after the team’s previous captain, late Shane Warne, stepped down. At 39, he took up the mantle of captaincy in 2012 and led the side in 40 games, winning 23 of them. Following this, he spent two seasons (2014 and 2015) as mentor of the side, before being appointed as the coach for India’s U-19 and ‘A’ teams.
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Under Dravid’s mentorship, India won the 2018 U-19 World Cup. He was appointed as the head of cricket operations at NCA based in Bengaluru. In 2021, Dravid took over from Ravi Shastri as head coach of the Indian men’s team to finish a successful campaign at the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Team India’s former head coach Rahul Dravid is likely to return to the Rajasthan Royals as the head coach, TOI has learnt.
“Talks are going on between RR and Dravid, and an announcement in this regard is round the corner,” a reliable source told TΟΙ.
The 51-year-old has had a… pic.twitter.com/oJm3zQMStQ
— Mirror Now (@MirrorNow) July 23, 2024
The report also mentioned Zubin Bharucha, the director of High Performance at RR, as helping out the coaches at SLC. “I’m helping out the Sri Lanka Cricket coaches in how they are setting up practice—from the academy to the international players,” said Bharucha.
There is, however, no clarity on what will happen with regards to Kumar Sangakkara, the current director of cricket for RR and legend of Sri Lankan cricket.
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The Indian squad reached Sri Lanka a few days ago for the white-ball series of six matches, which includes three T20Is and as many ODIs, starting later this week. It will be the first international assignment for Gautam Gambhir as the newly appointed head coach. People will keenly watch how the team prepares and performs under Gautam Gambhir, all while the potential new role of Dravid with RR captures the biggest eyeballs.
