Former South Africa batter and legend AB de Villiers feels that Rajasthan Royals head coach Rahul Dravid was probably kicked out of the franchise after the legend turned down the broader role than the franchise offered him. The India legend abruptly ended his second stint with the team, exactly a year after he was appointed on a multi-year deal.
A Rajasthan Royals release had come a few days ago stating that Rahul Dravid was central to their journey and influenced a generation of players by building strong values in the squad and left an indelible mark on the culture of the franchise. They added that Rahul Dravid was offered a broader position but he chose not to take it and also thanked him for his support and wished him all the best for his future programs and assignments.
AB de Villiers Views on Rahul Dravid leaving the franchise.
Speaking on his social media show 360 LIVE, AB de Villiers speculated that Dravid may have been edged out by Rajasthan Royals management after refusing the new role, hinting that despite his immense influence, this decision felt like he was kicked out of the franchise.
AB de Villiers said: “It sort of sounds to me like it was an owner or management kind of call. They gave him an option to have a broader role in the team. He sort of turned that down. Maybe he was upset because he really wanted to be still involved. He wanted to be in the dugout. Maybe it was his call. I don’t know. We’ll. I’m pretty sure we’ll find out once we get him talking about it in the future. Maybe. But Rahul, obviously, is leaving big footsteps behind, big shoes to fill.”
AB de Villiers further added: “He’s a larger-than-life kind of character, and he knows a lot about the game. And I personally have spoken to youngsters before on this show as well. Actually, some of my interviews were with a lot of people who spoke about him having a huge influence on their careers. So, yeah, you will definitely be missed.”
AB de Villiers Opines on Abrupt decisions unsettled Rajasthan Royals.
The former RCB batter de Villiers added that Rajasthan’s move felt reminiscent of football clubs, where abrupt decisions are made by the management when coaches failed to meet expectations. The 2008 IPL winners Rajasthan aimed to end their long-standing drought by roping in Dravid last September, who had just guided India to a T20 World Cup haul. But the Royals finished ninth last season after managing just 4 wins in 14 games, ahead of CSK only on Net Run Rate.
AB de Villiers also felt that letting go of too many stalwarts too quickly unsettled the balance and accelerated the franchise’s decline rather than rejuvenating it. Speaking in the same video he said:
“Sometimes you see it in the Premier League as well, the football league, where the managers and the coaches are always under huge pressure to perform and to bring trophies home. And once they don’t, they start hearing from the owners and whoever makes the decisions for the various leagues, sorry, franchises, so we don’t know the facts really. It sounds to me like the fact that he turned down that other role, sort of like he was kicked out, which is never ideal. But maybe Rajasthan have different ideas for the upcoming season. Maybe they want to shake things up a bit and move forward with that.”
AB de Villiers further added: “I don’t think they had the greatest auction last time, as they let go of some incredible players, the likes of Jos Buttler, to name, but a few, which I thought was a mistake. They sometimes are a good thing, but not overly aggressive for you. You can let one or two go, but they. They let a huge bulk of their team go at once, I think, a gradual sort of decline.”
It remains to be seen what is the truth behind this story and one hopes to find out sooner rather than later. It remains to be seen what the future holds for Rahul Dravid and where he goes next in the IPL if at all he wants to do coaching/mentoring. For Rajasthan Royals, they will look to appoint a new coach soon and start from the scratch once again. We shall see how things unfold when IPL 2026 mini-auctions comers nearer to all of us.
Also Read: IPL 2026: Ravichandran Ashwin Believes In Himself To Play 2-3Leagues In A Year.