Rajasthan Royals head coach Rahul Dravid has come out strongly in support of young wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel after the Royals suffered yet another defeat while chasing in IPL 2025 — their sixth such loss this season. Chasing has proven to be their Achilles heel, with just one successful attempt in seven games, that solitary win coming against the Gujarat Titans on April 28.
On Sunday, despite a rapid-fire start in their chase of 220 against Punjab Kings, Rajasthan fell short by 10 runs, once again faltering in the crucial middle and death overs. This latest defeat has raised questions over the team’s misfiring middle order, particularly Jurel, who has faced criticism for not finishing games. However, Dravid dismissed the criticism and backed the 14-crore retention to come good.
“He’s come in at times when we’ve needed 13-14 runs an over. That’s a tough situation for any batter,” Rahul Dravid said. “Jurel has shown great composure, and while we didn’t finish today, he kept us in the contest. Batting at No. 5 is a pressure job — he’s done well considering the demands.”
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Dravid also reiterated his faith in the franchise’s Indian youth brigade, calling this season a learning curve.
“We have a young, promising core — Jaiswal, Vaibhav, Riyan, and Jurel. With more game time, especially some international exposure, these players will return sharper and more confident,” he noted. Specifically, he spoke of the development path for Vaibhav Suryavanshi, likely to feature in India’s U19 setup, and Riyan Parag, who has been on the fringes of senior cricket. “They’re talented, no doubt. The next year is going to be huge for their growth,” Dravid said.
Despite a blazing 50-run start in just three overs by openers Suryavanshi and Jaiswal, Rajasthan failed to maintain the momentum. Punjab capitalised, scoring 60 runs in the last four overs to post 219/5 — a target Dravid felt was inflated.
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“This wasn’t a 220 wicket. We should’ve restricted them to 195-200. We gave away 20 more than we should have,” he admitted. Dravid stressed that the blame shouldn’t lie solely with the batters. “The bowling unit also has to own these defeats. We haven’t closed the death overs well or picked wickets in clusters,” he said, promising a recalibration ahead of IPL 2026.
