India’s World Cup-winning coach and former Rajasthan Royals player and coach Rahul Dravid has been officially announced as the head coach of Rajasthan Royals once again. Dravid recently ended his stint as the head coach of the Indian national cricket team with a T20 World Cup under his belt.

The Indian side gave a perfect farewell to their coach and a sweet revenge for the early exit from the 2007 Cricket World Cup which also happened to be in the Caribbean.

As a player and coach, Dravid has had a close relationship with the Royals organization. Between 2011 and 2013, he was both a player and the team’s captain. In 2014, he took on the position of mentor. In addition, Dravid has also served as a mentor for the Delhi Daredevils side. He resigned from his IPL posts in order to take on the role of coach for the India A and U-19 teams. He finally became the senior men’s Indian team’s coach in 2021.

Dravid and Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara, who has been the Royals’ coach for the previous four years, will collaborate closely to look after the side in the quest for a title which has been due for the last 15 years.

“Rahul is one of the greatest players to have played the game, but what he has achieved over the past decade as a coach is extraordinary. The characteristics that he possesses as a coach to nurture talent but also enable them to consistently perform at the highest level, will allow the Rajasthan Royals to further challenge for the title,” Sangakkara said.

“I’ve already had some meaningful conversations with him about his vision for this team, and he is looking forward to delivering the results for the Royals.”

Speaking about his return to the Royals, Dravid said: “I am pleased to be returning to the franchise I have called ‘home’ for a number of years in the past,” he said. “After the World Cup, I feel it’s the ideal time for me to take on another challenge, and the Royals is the perfect place to do that.

“A lot of hard work and deliberations from Manoj, Jake, Kumar and the team has gone into the progression that the franchise has made over the past few years. It’s an exciting opportunity for us to take this team to the next level given the kind of talent and resources we have at our disposal and I’m looking forward to getting started.”

ALSO READ: Tsukigawa appointed as New Zealand’s women’s selector