Rajasthan Royals head coach Rahul Dravid was missing from their pre-season training camp ahead of the IPL 2025 due to injury. The franchise confirmed that Dravid suffered a leg injury while playing cricket in Bengaluru and will be joining the team later. In a photo posted by RR on social media, Dravid was seen with a cast on his left leg but the franchise said that he was recovering well and will be joining the team soon. “Head Coach Rahul Dravid, who picked up an injury while playing Cricket in Bangalore, is recovering well and will join us today in Jaipur,” the franchise said in a post. Dravid became the RR head coach ahead of the IPL 2025 auction after winning the T20 World Cup 2024 title with Team India.

Head Coach Rahul Dravid, who picked up an injury while playing Cricket in Bangalore, is recovering well and will join us today in Jaipurpic.twitter.com/TW37tV5Isj

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) March 12, 2025

Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Sanju Samson hailed Vaibhav Suryavanshi, the youngest signing in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the age of 13, hailing his six-hitting ability and saying that the batter looks ready to “land a few punches”.

During the IPL mega-auction last year, one of the biggest surprises that emerged was Suryavanshi becoming a Royal for Rs 1.1 crore. Born on March 27, 2011, in Bihar, Vaibhav is the youngest player on the list. He made his first-class debut for Bihar in January 2024 at just 12 years and 284 days old. Last year, he was part of India U19’s match against Australia in Chennai, where he smashed a 58-ball century.

He was also the seventh-highest run-getter in the ACC Under 19 Asia Cup 2024-25. He scored 176 runs in 5 matches in the tournament with a highest score of 76*.

Speaking to JioHotstar as a part of the ‘SuperStar’ programme, Samson said that young players today do not lack confidence and understand the brand of Indian cricket that needs to be played.

“For me, rather than giving advice, I prefer observing first–how a youngster wants to play his cricket, what he likes, and what kind of support he needs from me. Then, I work my way around that. Vaibhav looks very confident; he was hitting sixes out of the ground at the academy. People were already talking about his power-hitting. What else can you ask for? It is all about understanding his strengths, backing him, and being there for him like an elder brother,” he added.

(With ANI inputs)