IPL 2025: Rajasthan Royals to sign Rahul Dravid as head coach

Former Indian head coach Rahul Dravid is gearing up to return to the Rajasthan Royals (RR) as their head coach for the 2025 IPL season as reported by ESPNCricinfo.

Dravid has reportedly signed a new contract with the Royals and has already begun initial talks about player retentions ahead of the upcoming mega auction.

Dravid has a strong history with the Royals. He captained the team in the 2012 and 2013 IPL seasons and also served as team director and mentor during the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

After leaving the Royals, Dravid joined the Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in 2016 before becoming the head of the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru in 2019. He was later appointed as the head coach of the Indian men’s team in 2021, leading them to their first ICC title in 11 years before his tenure ended.

Alongside Dravid, former Indian batter Vikram Rathour is expected to join the Royals as one of the assistant coaches. Rathour, who was part of Dravid’s coaching team at the NCA and served as India's batting coach from 2019, will bring valuable experience to the team.

Kumar Sangakkara, the Royals’ Director of Cricket since 2021, will continue in his role and manage the franchise’s teams in other leagues, including Paarl Royals in the SA20 and Barbados Royals in the CPL.

The Rajasthan Royals have not won the IPL title since their debut season in 2008. Their best performance in recent years came in 2022 when they finished as runners-up to the Gujarat Titans. Although they failed to make the playoffs in 2023, finishing fifth despite a strong start, they reached the playoffs in 2024 but were eliminated in Qualifier 2.