Rahul Dravid likely to be back in 2025 IPL for THIS team; no, it’s not Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders: Report

Rahul Dravid is likely to rejoin the Rajasthan Royals (RR) as Head Coach in 2025 IPL, The Times of India has reported citing sources. Dravid has a long history with the team, having been their captain and leading them to the Champions League T20 final and IPL playoffs in 2013. He also served as a mentor in 2014 and 2015 when they finished third in the IPL.

Dravid has been involved with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in various roles since 2015. He was the Head Coach of the India U-19 and India 'A' teams. He was the chairman of the National Cricket Academy (NCA). He became the Head Coach of the senior men’s team in October 2021.

It is uncertain whether the Royals will keep Kumar Sangakkara, the publication added. The Sri Lankan great has been in charge of RR of cricket since 2021.

"Talks are going on between RR and Dravid, and an announcement in this regard is round the corner," TOI quoted the source as saying.

This report comes amid speculation about Rahul Dravid joining Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to replace Gautam Gambhir. Gambhir replaced Dravid as India’s Head Coach after the latter finished his tenure, with Team India winning the T20 World Cup 2024.

‘Exchange offer’

While the report of Dravid joining KKR did rounds on social media, several users posted their remarks. One of them wrote that, if Rahul Dravid became the KKR coach, they would top the table in Fair Play as well.

Many humorously commented that it would be an “exchange offer” between KKR and BCCI as, in that case, Gambhir and Dravid would be swapping roles. Both Gambhir and Dravid had a great 2024 in their individual capacity. While Dravid won the T20 World Cup 2024 for Team India, Gambhir was instrumental in KKR’s IPL win after 10 years.

Rahul Dravid, as per reports, did not want to extend his tenure as India’s Head Coach as he wanted to spend quality time with family.