Sports

IPL 2025: Rahul Dravid, leg in cast, back with Royals on a mission

The Wall has served the Pink Army both as player and mentor before, but without adequate returns  

Rahul Dravid, chief coach of Rajasthan Royals, has a chat with KKR players in Guwahati
Rahul Dravid, chief coach of Rajasthan Royals, has a chat with KKR players in Guwahati BCCI

It’s after a decade that Rahul Dravid makes a comeback to the Rajasthan Royals fold, but not quite in the manner he bargained for. From their base in Jaipur to the first game in Hyderabad and now Guwahati, ‘The Wall’ has been moving about in a motorised wheelchair with his left leg in a cast, thanks to a freak injury sustained in February while playing in a local league game with his younger son Anvay in Bengaluru.     

Surely he could have delayed his arrival to join the team until at least the plaster was off, but that’s quintessential Dravid. During a break in training at Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday, where the Royals will be taking on reigning champions Kolkata Knight Riders this evening, Dravid was seen holding court with some players from the rival camp. From a senior like Manish Pandey, vice-captain Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh to youngster Angkrish Raghubanshi — all were rapt in attention.

The Dravid aura is so pervasive in Indian cricket that no player worth their salt will let go of an opportunity to pick his brains. After he signed off from his national cricket team tenure with a flourish thanks to Rohit Sharma & Co’s T20 World Cup win, the curiosity value about his next move was quite high — and one didn’t have to wait too long for the answer. The deal was done by September of last year that Dravid would be returning to the Pink Army, whom he had served both as a player and mentor before.

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‘’It’s ideal time to take on another challenge,’’ remarked Dravid and soon after, Vikram Rathour, India's batting coach during the Dravid regime, followed suit. The hype over his new move was understandable, but the fact remains that the legendary figure’s tenure in the glitzy league didn’t yield suitable returns — be it as a player-captain with the Royals during 2012-13 or as a mentor, first with Royals in 2014-15 and then Delhi Capitals in 2016-17.

What’s worse, the biggest match-fixing saga in IPL history broke in 2013 under his nose when S. Sreesanth and three of his teammates were booked for spot-fixing. Dravid's squeaky clean reputation ensured his name was not brought into it, and he is now back to take fresh guard and take his favourite franchise to new heights.

After being perennial under-achievers in IPL since winning the inaugural edition of the league in 2008, the Royals have been back in the frame in the last three seasons, including a runners-up finish in 2022.

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The Royals did not disgrace themselves in a 44-run defeat in a high-scoring opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad, but what has not gone down well with a section of their fans is the management’s decision to elevate Riyan Parag as stand-in captain for the first three games. Sanju Samson, the skipper, is yet to receive a nod from the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for wicketkeeping after injuring his finger during the T20I series against England, and will be playing as a batter only in the first three games, which opened up room to try a new incumbent.

There is a clamour on social media that Yashasvi Jaiswal’s claims have been ignored when the opportunity presented itself. ‘’Jaiswal is killing his career by not hiring good PR agency. He will end up like Pujara in Test, Dhawan in white ball. Top performer but no one will recognise him. If he wants to take a good step first leave this Assam Royals,’’ posted Dexter Morgan on his X handle.

Dravid, who is no stranger to handling outsized egos, needs to handle this as well as manage the great expectations of him this time!

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