Rajasthan Royals appoint Rahul Dravid as head coach on multi-year contract

New Delhi, Sep 6 (IANS) Former India captain and coach Rahul Dravid has been appointed as the new head coach of Rajasthan Royals (RR) on a multi-year contract. Dravid’s tenure as India head coach came to an end after the side won the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup at Barbados in June this year.

"I am pleased to be returning to the franchise I have called 'home' for a number of years in the past. After the World Cup, I feel it's the ideal time for me to take on another challenge, and the Royals is the perfect place to do that.”

“A lot of hard work and deliberations from Manoj, Jake, Kumar and the team has gone into the progression that the franchise has made over the past few years. It's an exciting opportunity for us to take this team to the next level given the kind of talent and resources we have at our disposal and I'm looking forward to getting started," Dravid said in a statement.

Dravid spent five seasons with the franchise from 2011 to 2015, with last two years seeing him begin his coaching career. In a statement, RR said Dravid will take charge immediately and will be working with Royals' Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara to implement the franchise's overall cricketing strategy.

"Rahul is one of the greatest players to have played the game, but what he has achieved over the past decade as a coach is extraordinary. The characteristics that he possesses as a coach to nurture talent but also enable them to consistently perform at the highest level, will allow the Rajasthan Royals to further challenge for the title. I've already had some meaningful conversations with him about his vision for this team, and he is looking forward to delivering the results for the Royals," added Sangakkara, who coached RR since IPL 2021.

Dravid was also the mentor of the Delhi Capitals till he went into the National Cricket Academy (NCA), where he was head coach of India's 2018 U19 Men’s World Cup winning team, being runners-up in the 2016 edition of the tournament, coached India ‘A’ team and became the organisation’s head of cricket.

As India's senior men’s head coach, Dravid led Men in Blue to the top rankings in the Test, ODI and T20I, won the 2023 Asia Cup and finished as runners-up in the ODI World Cup and World Test Championship finals in 2023, before ending his tenure with a T20 World Cup win this year.

“His expertise of getting the best out of both younger and experienced talent, along with the values with which he operates, align seamlessly with our franchise, and just a quick skim of social media tells me the fans will be excited to see him back with us."

"Rahul has already got to work with Kumar (Sangakkara) and the rest of the team, as we prepare for this exciting new period for the franchise starting with IPL retention and the auction just around the corner," added Jake Lush McCrum, RR CEO.

Coming back to RR after nine years will see Dravid reunite with current captain, wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, who came through the ranks at the franchise and in the Indian team set-up under him. His first assignment with RR is to firm up its strategy for the IPL 2025 mega auction, whose retention policies are yet to be formally announced.

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