Rahul Dravid made Kingpin as Sunil Gavaskar butchers Rajasthan Royals

Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has slammed the Rajasthan Royals (RR) following their loss to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the IPL 2025 clash. The legendary cricketer stated that the Jaipur-based franchise was playing 'unthinking cricket' in the tournament despite head coach Rahul Dravid at the helm.

The Riyan Parag-led team once again stumbled during the match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday, April 24. RCB ended their three-game losing streak at home and moved to third place in the standings. Meanwhile, RR are in eighth place on the table with two wins.

It Was Unthinking Cricket - Sunil Gavaskar Slams Rahul Dravid

Sunil Gavaskar was disappointed with the Rajasthan Royals’ on-field decisions under Rahul Dravid. He described the style of play as “unthinking cricket,” which he found unexpected under Dravid’s leadership. Gavaskar emphasized that Dravid's career was defined by clarity and precision.

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“With Rajasthan Royals, I’m talking about the earlier matches where I wasn’t at the ground. I just saw them. So, you’re not always able to get the feeling of what’s happening. But here, I was on the ground and you could see the kind of cricket that was being played," Sunil Gavaskar said while speaking on Star Sports.

“And with someone like Rahul Dravid as the coach, it was quite baffling—it was unthinking cricket. Dravid was always so precise in his thinking and I would’ve thought that kind of approach would’ve seeped into some of the Rajasthan batters," Gavaskar added.

It’s Just a Different Kind of Cricket - Sunil Gavaskar

The former Indian cricketer pointed out that the team had let three consecutive run chases slip away despite being in control for large parts of those games. Gavaskar noted that young players are bound to make mistakes, but there is still a lack of thinking behind the team’s approach.

“Where is the thought process there? You can’t expect inexperienced players to always get it right, but still… It’s just a different kind of cricket," Sunil Gavaskar said.

Rajasthan Royals' playoff hopes are hanging by a thread after their latest defeat. With seven losses in nine matches, the side is on the brink of elimination, and one more defeat could officially knock them out of the IPL 2025 race.

Rajasthan Royals' Middle-Order Batters Struggle Against Spinners

Rajasthan Royals began their chase of 206 with Yashasvi Jaiswal and 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi adding 52 runs in just 4.2 overs. Suryavanshi, playing as the Impact Player, was bowled by a knuckleball from Bhuvneshwar Kumar after an aggressive start.

Jaiswal fell just before the end of the powerplay, having scored 49 off 19 balls, including seven boundaries and three sixes. Rajasthan struggled during the middle overs, with Krunal Pandya picking up Riyan Parag and Nitish Rana.

Shimron Hetmyer (11) also departed cheaply. Dhruv Jurel revived hopes with a determined 47 off 34 balls, especially after he and Shubham Dubey took 22 runs from Bhuvneshwar’s 18th over. However, RR finished at 194/9 in 20 overs.

For RCB, Josh Hazlewood picked up four wickets for 33 runs in his four overs and won the Player of the Match award.

Also read: Sandeep Sharma openly revolts against Riyan Parag as Rajasthan Royals' captain