Rahul Dravid Returns to Chinnaswamy as Rajasthan Royals Seek Revival Against Former Team RCB

The Indian Premier League’s 2025 season has thrown up a unique pattern — former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) players returning to their old stomping ground and playing key roles in inflicting defeats on their former side. Mohammed Siraj. KL Rahul. Yuzvendra Chahal. One by one, they’ve come back to haunt RCB. Now, it’s the turn of the first-ever RCB captain, Rahul Dravid, though in a different capacity.

As Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) head coach, Dravid leads a team desperate to halt a slide. RR have won just two of their eight matches this season and are currently on a four-game losing streak. The situation is dire, and Dravid knows it.

In a media interaction ahead of RR’s clash with RCB at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Dravid quipped, “Do we have an RCB player from last time? Play him in the XI straightaway!” He followed the jest with a chuckle, momentarily overlooking the fact that both Wanindu Hasaranga and Shimron Hetmyer once donned the RCB jersey. Hasaranga, in fact, was their top wicket-taker in the 2022 playoffs run.

On a more serious note, Dravid emphasized that his team isn’t driven by sentiment but by the need to perform. “No, not at all, man. I don't think about it like that, to be very honest,” he said. “We know we have to play well to stay alive in this tournament. We’ve lost a couple of close games, but we’ve played some good cricket as well.”

Those close games he referred to were particularly painful. Against Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants, RR needed just nine runs in the final over with wickets in hand — only to lose, one via a Super Over and the other by a two-run margin.

Dravid pointed to the unpredictability of the Chinnaswamy pitch this season as another variable. RCB have posted modest scores — 169, 163, and 95 (in a 14-over game) — in their three home fixtures and lost all three. “I think every surface will be different,” said Dravid. “The last one was under covers for a long time, so hard to judge. But the one for this game looks like a good cricket wicket. I think it should be a high-scoring game.”

He didn’t shy away from the urgency either. “Every game from here on, in the position we find ourselves in, we can't afford to make many mistakes. We’ve got to start climbing that table quickly — no options, no chances of slipping up anymore.”

The broader trend of teams struggling to win at home in IPL 2025 also came up. Only Gujarat Titans, Delhi Capitals, and Mumbai Indians have a winning home record this season.

Dravid attributed this partly to the reshuffling of squads post the mega auction. “It's the first year of a big auction cycle. Even home players are playing at their new home grounds for the first time,” he explained. “Phil Salt was with KKR, now he’s at RCB. Nitish Rana is new to Jaipur. So, it takes time to build that familiarity. Maybe as the cycle progresses, home advantage will return.”

As RR prepare to take on RCB, Dravid’s return adds another chapter to the unfolding “hex of the exes.” For Rajasthan, the time to turn their season around is now — and who better to lead that charge in Bengaluru than a man who once captained this city’s franchise?