Jaipur, March 12
Rajasthan Royals head coach Rahul Dravid will join the team’s preparatory camp in Jaipur on Wednesday, a week after suffering an injury on his left leg during a club match in Bengaluru. The IPL franchise shared a photo on social media on Wednesday, in which Dravid is seen wearing a cast on his left leg, and captioned the post, "Head Coach Rahul Dravid, who picked up an injury while playing Cricket in Bangalore, is recovering well and will join us today in Jaipur."
The former Royals' captain spent five seasons with the franchise from 2011 to 2015. He began his coaching career with the Royals back in 2014 when he transitioned from serving as the captain to being the team's mentor. Former India head coach Dravid made a surprise return to the cricket field by playing alongside his younger son Anvay in a KSCA Group I, Division III league match in the Nassur Memorial Shield on February 22.
Rahul Dravid and his son Anvay represented the Vijaya Cricket Club (Malur) in a 50-over match against the Young Lions Club at the SLS Kreedangana cricket ground in Bengaluru.
The Indian cricket legend came into bat at No. 6 and made an eight-ball 10 in the match before being dismissed by spinner AR Ullas as the father-son duo forged a brief 17-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
Dravid played his second match of the tournament in the semifinal against the Jayanagar Cricketers. When the Vijaya Cricket Club were battling at 12/3 in the seventh over, Rahul joined his son Anvay at the crease. Two deliveries into his stay, the 52-year-old appeared in discomfort, his leg troubling him, but he continued to play and stitched a 66-ball 43-run partnership with Anvay for the fourth wicket.
The Indian legend battled injury and played until he had to be helped off the field. Still, his courage failed to lift the fortunes of the Vijaya Cricket Club, Malur, in the semifinal of the KSCA Group III league tournament.
Dravid, who was in Guwahati for the Rajasthan Royals' recent pre-season camp before coming to Jaipur, will be seen in the dugout in the team’s IPL 2025 opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on March 23.
The Rajasthan Royals won the title in the inaugural year in 2008 and reached the final again in 2022. The Sanju Samson-led franchise finished third in the league stage in 2024 and lost out to eventual runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2.