After a gap of nine years, Rahul Dravid is back at Rajasthan Royals, this time as the Head Coach of the Indian Premier League team.

Dravid had earlier spent three seasons at the Royals as a player from 2011 to 2013 and continued his association with the team as mentor till 2015.

Rahul Dravid: The Royals player

Rahul Dravid was signed by the Rajasthan Royals in 2011 from Royal Challengers Bangalore and he spent his first season under the captaincy of legendary Shane Warne. In the three seasons at the Royals, Dravid accumulated 1,324 runs from 51 visits to the crease, including seven fifties, at an average of 27.02 and a strike rate of 108.88.

In his first season, Dravid was the top run-getter for the Royals in the IPL with a tally of 343 runs at an average of 31.18. He continued his rich vein of form into the subsequent edition where he finished second in the Royals’ scoring charts with an impressive 462 runs from 16 matches.

In his final IPL season too, Dravid strung together consistent performances to accumulate 471 runs, his highest tally of runs in all three years with the Royals, finishing third behind Ajinkya Rahane and Shane Watson in the Royals’ batting list.

Dravid was consistent at the top of the order for the Royals. He is sixth in the list of top run-getters for Rajasthan Royals, though he spent only three seasons with the team.

Rahul Dravid’s Rajasthan Royals batting record in IPL

Year

Innings

Runs

Average

Strike Rate

Fifties

High Score

2011

12

343

31.18

109.23

1

66

2012

16

462

28.87

112.13

2

58

2013

17

471

29.43

110.82

4

65

TOTAL

45

1276

29.67

110.86

7

66

Rahul Dravid as Rajasthan Royals captain

Rahul Dravid took over the baton of the Rajasthan Royals captaincy from Shane Warne after the leg-spinner retired after IPL 2011. Under Dravid, the Royals finished third in the IPL 2013 points table before losing out in the qualifiers.

Dravid also led the Royals to the final of the Champions League T20 in 2013, a tournament involving top teams from all over the world.

Dravid captained the Royals in 40 matches across two seasons winning 23 of those. He still boasts the highest winning percentage (57.50%) among all the captains who have led the Royals in at least 20 matches.

More than his numbers, Dravid played a significant role in shaping the careers of many youngsters at the Royals. Ajinkya Rahane and the current Royals captain Sanju Samson, who made his IPL debut under Dravid in 2013, went on to represent India in multiple formats.

Dravid also played his part in unearthing local talents like Pravin Tambe who had never featured in a top-level game for any first-class side before making his Royals debut in IPL 2013.

Royals’ mentor (2014-15)

Post his retirement as a player, Dravid continued to be associated with the Royals as mentor for two more seasons.

In his new role, Dravid worked closely with the players to create an atmosphere that allowed them to perform without the fear of failure. He also mentored young talents to come to terms with the high-pressure IPL environment.

The Royals finished fifth in the points table in IPL 2014 missing qualification to the playoffs by a whisker. In the following season, the team finished fourth before being beaten by RCB in the Eliminator.

In the two seasons that Dravid spent as mentor, the Royals won a total of 14 matches.

Rahul Dravid and Indian cricket

After his stint with the Royals, Dravid went on to become coach of the India U19 and the India ‘A’ teams. After helping India reach the final of the U19 World Cup in 2016, Dravid guided the Indian Colts to glory in the following edition in 2018.

Royals’ pacer Avesh Khan was part of the 2016 U19 World Cup squad whereas Riyan Parag was in the side that won the event in 2018.

Rahul Dravid took over the reins of the Indian men’s cricket team in November 2021 with the team making significant strides in all formats under his watchful eyes.

India had an excellent World Test Championship cycle reaching the final in 2023. The Royals opener Yashasvi Jaiswal made his Test debut in July 2023 in the West Indies during Dravid’s stint.

Dravid was also successful in scripting a marvellous ODI World Cup campaign at home in 2023, where the team won all their matches before falling short at the final hurdle. However, Dravid made amends for that as he powered the Indian cricket team to glory in the T20 World Cup 2024 in his last assignment as Indian coach, stepping down in style.

At the Royals, Dravid will have to hit the ground running as he along with the management will need to chalk up key strategies as the team moves towards a new season. The retention of players along with the upcoming mega auction will be coach Dravid’s first hurdle.