Sairaj Bahutule To Join RR Under Head Coach Rahul Dravid
Another Indian cricketing great, Sairaj Bahutule, is gearing up to join the Rajasthan Royals as the spin bowling coach. He is expected to collaborate closely with Rahul Dravid, who was recently signed as the head coach of the franchise for IPL 2025. Bahutule, together with his valuable experience as a cricketer and a coach, would add great hard-working knowledge to help build up prospects and strategies for spin bowling.
With a coaching CV which is hardly a surprise-an accomplished first-class cricketer for Mumbai who played 188 first-class matches, with 630 wickets-for an exemplary average of 26-he did take his first steps into cricket coaching after he retired from playing. Moreover, he served the RR as spin bowling coach from 2018-2021, then moved to Bengaluru to take up the NCA, where he worked towards young, budding Indian cricketers.
His return to RR under Dravid is viewed as RR’s strategic move considering Dravid’s past association with the franchise. Having captained and mentored RR in his previous IPL seasons, Dravid had built competitive teams at the international level as well as in the IPL based on his previous coaching experience. Under his coaching aegis, the Indian national team had lifted the T20 World Cup in 2024, which bears ample proof of how capable he has been in terms of management and strategizing.
Their previous stint at NCA while working on young spinners together adds another layer of familiarity and synergy to their roles here at RR. The partnership is expected to benefit RR’s spin department most notably because-or so go the theory-the Indian pitches are spin-friendly and helpful. Thus, Bahutule’s expertise must be of great assistance toward RR’s prospects in its pursuit of glory in this tournament.
He has a fair amount of exposure to demands in international cricket, having recently worked as an interim bowling coach for the Indian team during their tour of Sri Lanka in 2024, further acquainting him with player’s development inside modern international cricket. The ability to work with young players like Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, and Kuldeep Yadav during this tour brings in a new dimension in terms of his understanding of the game and its divergent approach.
Under Dravid and Bahutule, Rajasthan Royals are on the proactive list of filling up the coaching roles, as they are yet to make a mark in the IPL after mixed results in the previous seasons. Along with Dravid and Bahutule, Sangakkara is confirmed to be the Director of Cricket Operations. This set-up appears to be ready to leverage the cumulative experience and strategic acumen of these cricketing minds.
The build-up for Bahutule joining RR is about more than just past achievements; it’s how his working methodologies fit into Dravid’s coaching philosophy, which holds aspects of technique, mental fitness, and strategic play. It can give rise to some fresh and innovative thinking toward the potential evolution of team strategies, particularly in the game at various phases.
With the 2025 IPL, all eyes will be focused on how this cannon of established coaches turns RR into one of the IPL powerhouses. With the ability of Bahutule to deal with spinners added to Dravid’s own coaching versatility, RR might well carve out for itself a naysayer opening in the all-competitive IPL market.
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