Dravid approached by KKR as direct swap for Gambhir: Report

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) made a fabulous comeback in the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), after finishing seventh in both the previous two seasons. 

Gautam Gambhir, who was roped in by the franchise as the mentor for the 2024 season, was largely credited for KKR's third title win, as he was for the first two as well, when he had donned the captain's armband. 

However, Gambhir is reportedly set to become the new head coach of the Indian men's cricket team, implying that KKR will now have to fill the vacant spot for the 2025 season. And who better than Rahul Dravid to replace Gambhir.

Dravid has already stepped down from the India head coach role, with June 29 being his final day of work. Despite suffering heartbreaks in the World Test Championship final and the ODI World Cup final last year, both against Australia, Dravid regrouped his men and eventually signed off with a T20 World Cup trophy win last month in Barbados, where India beat South Africa in a dramatic final.

Following the win, in a conversation with reporters at the Kensington Oval, Dravid joked that he would be "unemployed" from next week onwards as he asked the journalists if any offers were in hand. 

It seems Dravid will not have to wait long for another job, as a report in News 18 claims that the former India captain has been approached by various IPL franchises.

The report further added that KKR, which is desperately looking for an able replacement for Gambhir, is among those IPL teams that want Dravid as a coach or mentor for the 2025 season. The franchise is also willing to make an offer that is more lucrative than Team India, where he earned INR 12 crore as the head coach.

Dravid has been a loyal servant of the sport as he has been actively involved in coaching since his international retirement in 2012. He was roped in as a mentor for Rajasthan Royals between 2014 and 2015, during which, he also served as a Team India mentor for the 2014 tour of England. 

Later, he was appointed as the head coach for the India U-19 and A team. Besides coaching the U-19 team to the 2016 final and a title win in 2018, he is also credited for training future stars including Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, Washington Sundar among others. Later in 2016, he also served as a mentor for the Delhi IPL side.

Gambhir, meanwhile, was reportedly in Kolkata last week to shoot his farewell video for KKR. The news report certainly confirmed his appointment as the India head coach, which is slated to happen within the next few days, given that his first assignment would be the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka later this month.