Vikram Rathour, who served as India’s batting coach during Ravi Shastri’s tenure, and later continued working alongside Rahul Dravid during his stint as head coach, will once again be a part of Dravid’s support staff in a similar capacity at the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. Earlier this month, the Royals confirmed Dravid as their new head coach.
In June, Rathour’s five-year association with the national team ended, with the expiry of his contract soon after India’s triumph at the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean.
“Having worked closely with Vikram for many years, I can confidently say that his technical expertise, calm demeanor, and deep understanding of Indian conditions make him a perfect fit for the Royals,” Dravid said in a statement.
“Together, we’ve built a strong rapport, guiding India to key successes, and I’m thrilled to reunite with him. His ability to nurture young talent and elevate players’ potential will be invaluable as we aim to further strengthen our squad and continue building a world-class team here at Rajasthan Royals.”
This will be Rathour’s second IPL stint, having earlier been part of the coaching set up at Punjab Kings. He has also been the director of cricket at Himachal Pradesh previously.
Commenting on his new role, Rathour said, “The opportunity to work again with Rahul, and now with a talented group of young cricketers, is hugely exciting. I look forward to contributing to the team’s vision and working toward our goal of developing top-class players for the Royals and for India which can help in winning championships.”
Earlier this month, the 55-year-old Rathour was briefly hired by the New Zealand team as a batting consultant, as part of their preparation for six Tests they were to play in the sub-continent. Prior to his India role, Rathour was a national selector and also coached Punjab and Himachal Pradesh in domestic cricket.
Rathour, who represented India in six Tests and seven ODIs between 1996 and 1997, has a healthy domestic batting record amassing 11,473 First Class runs.