It's ideal time for me to take another challenge, says Rahul Dravid after being appointed as Rajasthan Royals Head Coach

Royals Sports Group-owned franchise Rajasthan Royals on Friday announced the appointment of Dravid as Head Coach on a multi-year contract.

Rahul Dravid said, "I am pleased to be returning to the franchise I have called 'home' for a number of years in the past. 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," he said.

The former Royals captain and coach spent five seasons with the franchise from 2011 to 2015 and will commence with the team immediately, working with Royals' Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara to implement the franchise's overall cricketing strategy.

Dravid began his coaching career with Rajasthan Royals in 2014 when he transitioned from serving as the captain to being the team's mentor.

Since then, Dravid has been involved in various capacities with the National Cricket Academy (NCA), the Indian Men's U19 and the Indian Men's Senior team, leading the nation to the top of the Test, ODI and T20I rankings during his tenure, and topping it up with the ICC Men's T20 World Cup crown recently.

Welcoming Dravid back to the Royals Family, Jake Lush McCrum, Chief Executive Officer, Royals Sports Group, said, "We are delighted to be bringing Rahul back to the franchise. His exceptional coaching capabilities are evident with the transformation he's driven in Indian cricket."

"He also has a deep connection to the franchise, and we've seen that passion come through in all our conversations. His expertise of getting the best out of both younger and experienced talent, along with the values with which he operates, align seamlessly with our franchise, and just a quick skim of social media tells me the fans will be excited to see him back with us," Jake Lush McCrum said.

"Rahul has already got to work with Kumar (Sangakkara) and the rest of the team, as we prepare for this exciting new period for the franchise starting with IPL retention and the auction just around the corner," added Jake Lush McCrum.

Manoj Badale, Lead Owner, Rajasthan Royals, said, “Rahul has a long and deep history with the Royals. It is where he started his coaching journey. We are delighted to be bringing him back to the franchise. Rahul Dravid has few parallels in global sport, both for what he has achieved as a former player and a coach, but also for what he represents as a human being."

"We have made fantastic progress in our on-field performance over the past few years, but there is still lots to learn, improve and grow. His return will, hopefully, further accelerate our progress and will be a great boost for everyone involved, most importantly our players and our fans," Badale added.

Royals' Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara, who assumed the role of Head Coach for the past four seasons, welcomed Dravid to the franchise and said he is one of the greatest players to play the game.

The former Sri Lankan cricket star said: "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. 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."