By L A Adithya
Rajasthan Royals, the first IPL title winners IN 2008, released a statement on Saturday, August 30, that the cricketing legend formerly known as the ‘The wall’ Rahul Dravid has relinquished his position as the head coach for the Royals after a supposed structural review internally by the team. This comes after having signed a multi-year deal and only a one-year stint with the franchise.
The franchise stated that pertaining to the underlying structural review, Dravid was given a ‘broader position’ within the team’s setup, which he declined, and decided to part ways, and that it was determined to get a foothold in the upcoming 2026 IPL campaign following an utterly disappointing performance in the 2024 campaign. The team finished 9th in the table, ending their terrible run with just four wins out of 14 total games played.
Coming in as the head coach after having coached the Indian team to victory in the ICC T20 World Cup, the Test Maestro had all eyes on him with sky-high expectations, pressuring him to lead RR to glory after a considerably long drought. The outcome, however, was not remotely in favor of the team, finishing the lowest since 2021, often choking and slipping from winning positions.
RR, in their release, poured out their gratitude for having had Rahul Dravid as their head coach and said that he’d inspired a generation of youngsters and cricketers and established his mark on the franchise’s culture. This heartfelt message was met gracefully by the legend and the millions of fans across the globe.
Dravid played a huge part in retaining certain key players like Yashaswi Jaiswal, Hetmayer, and Sanju Samson, to name a few, in the auction and was all in praise for that. Unfortunately, these key players were met with injuries, which hampered the team’s momentum and performance.
According to espncricinfo, Sanju Samson, the captain, also has asked the franchise to be let go in the coming auction and showed interest in departing.
This leaves only two teams in the IPL without a head coach, the other being the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).