Dravid to return to Rajasthan Royals as head coach

Rahul Dravid is set to return to Rajasthan Royals (RR) as head coach ahead of the 2025 IPL season, following the culmination of his tenure as India coach after the 2024 T20 World Cup win in June this year.

ESPNcricinfo has learned that Dravid recently signed a deal with the franchise and has had initial conversations on player retentions ahead of the upcoming mega auction. He has a long-standing working relationship with the RR captain Sanju Samson, who came through the under-19 ranks on Dravid's watch.

Dravid has history with RR. He was their captain in IPL 2012 and 2013, and served as team director and mentor in the 2014 and 2015 seasons. In 2016, Dravid moved to Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) until he became the head of the National Cricket Academy 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.

RR are also likely to sign 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 he became India's batting coach in 2019.

It is understood that while Dravid will take charge of Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, Kumar Sangakkara, who has been their director of cricket since 2021, will continue with their franchise and look after their teams in other leagues - Paarl Royals in the SA20 and Barbados Royals in the CPL.

RR have not won the IPL title since the inaugural season in 2008; their next best finish was in 2022 when they came runners-up to Gujarat Titans. They failed to make the playoffs in 2023, finishing fifth in the league despite a terrific start to the season, but did so in 2024 and were knocked out in Qualifier 2.