He was appointed to this role after his tenure with India ended in the T20 World Cup 2024.
Rahul Dravid has decided not to continue with the Rajasthan Royals (RR), where he acted as the head coach of the franchise. He was appointed to this role after his tenure with India ended in the T20 World Cup 2024, which the team won without losing any game.
Initially, Dravid signed a multi-year deal with RR, but this abrupt ending comes after the team’s poor performance in IPL 2025, where they ended ninth with only four wins. Their side was unbalanced and had multiple loopholes, as they never gained momentum at any stage of the tournament.
The franchise issued a statement, revealing that the legendary player was offered a broader role in the RR setup, but he declined it. That means his new stint lasted for only one season, and the Royals will appoint a new name for the role ahead of the IPL 2026 auction.
“As part of the franchise structural review Rahul had been offered a broader position at the franchise, but has chosen not to take this. The Rajasthan Royals, its players, and millions of fans worldwide extend heartfelt thanks to Rahul for his remarkable service to the franchise.”
Rahul Dravid had been part of the Rajasthan Royals in various capacities since the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was their mentor in IPL 2014 and 2015 and did a decent job, especially in the latter season, as RR finished fourth on the points table.
However, he soon joined India’s U-19 team and later became the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in July 2019 after a four-year stint with the age-group side. Earlier, Dravid had played for them in IPL 2012 and 2013 as the captain of the franchise.
While it’s unclear what the exact reason is behind this sudden move, RR’s abysmal performance last season might be one of them, and the franchise might have wanted him to focus on all teams associated with the group and impart his vast knowledge rather than sticking with one. It will be interesting to see who succeeds Dravid at RR, which elevated their previous head coach, Kumar Sangakkara, to the director of cricket position in the franchise.
For RR, the challenges will also be to fill the weak points in the team, which were the reason why they couldn’t perform well last season and somehow escaped a bottom finish. The base is strong, and the addition of a few quality players will make them as formidable as they were in the previous cycle.
