Delhi: Rahul Dravid's contract as Team India's head coach ended with the Men in Blue's victory in the T20 World Cup 2024 in June this year. Even then, he did not show any interest in extending this contract but also said that he is now unemployed and will wait for the next good offer. Only he can tell better which offers he got but the current situation is that the next job he got was coaching and now he is the coach of IPL team Rajasthan Royals.

Here too the goal is to end the drought of not winning a title: Rahul Dravid's new 'job' is also to fulfil an unfinished goal. When he became the coach of Team India in 2021, his first and foremost goal was to end the team's drought of not winning any ICC title for years and this is the goal he has achieved in Rajasthan Royals without saying anything. This team was the champion in the first season of IPL in 2008, but since then, despite all efforts, they have not been able to win the title. Even he himself, as the captain of this team (in 2012 and 2013), failed to achieve this goal.

As a player or captain, he neither won the World Cup nor the IPL: Rahul Dravid himself was a great player but his dream of winning the World Cup remained unfulfilled. Even in the 2007 World Cup in which he was the captain, the team failed miserably. Similarly, he was never in a team that won the IPL. He played all his 89 IPL matches for two teams. Out of these, when Rajasthan Royals won the IPL title, he was in RCB and RCB has not been able to win any title till date. Well, Rahul Dravid's dream of holding the World Cup trophy was finally fulfilled by the Indian team of which he was the coach and now will the Rajasthan Royals team of which he is the coach, also fulfill his dream of holding the IPL trophy?

Rahul Dravid's IPL record as mentor/coach: Rahul Dravid's current duties have lengthened the list of players who played IPL and later became coaches of the same team. The truth is that this is the first time he has become the coach of any IPL team and before this he has only been the team director/mentor. See the record:
Rajasthan Royals in 2014: 7 wins in 14 matches and No. 5 in the season
Rajasthan Royals in 2015: 7 wins in 15 matches and No. 3 in the season
Delhi Capitals in 2016: 7 wins in 14 matches and No. 6 in the season
He has a long association with Rajasthan Royals and will now try his best to live up to the team's repeated faith in him.

Does he have the vision to make the team a champion in the current aggressive T20 event format of IPL: The same question was before him as the T20 coach of Team India because he himself had played only one T20 International. Anyway, his philosophy was: 'Coaching does not mean only cricket coaching, on the contrary, it means connecting with the players and creating the right environment for the team. This is what is necessary for success. To be a part of that team which plays responsibly, in a professional and safe environment, in which there is no fear of defeat and there is courage to face the challenge for further success. My goal is to win cricket games and what process is needed to win?' Now with his experience, he has learned the trick to achieve this, through the preparation of the team, so now it does not matter whether he is fit for the challenge of today's IPL or not?

The challenge of IPL 2025 is ahead: Incidentally, he knows the current captain of the team, Sanju Samson, from his days in the Under-19 ranks. Also, the process of bringing in the support staff that he trusts has also begun. That is why batting coach Vikram Rathore, who was with him in the NCA and Team India, has also been brought to the Rajasthan Royals camp. The franchise's cricket director Kumar Sangakkara will provide support from outside. Incidentally, this is the year of player retention and mega auction in the IPL, so Dravid will also be able to form his favorite team. The record shows that in recent years the team's cricket has lacked a 'killer punch' – played the final in 2022 but lost, did not even play the playoffs despite a strong start to the 2023 season and was eliminated in Qualifier 2 in 2024. Now let's see what strategy Rahul Dravid makes for this 'killer punch'?