TOP STORIES

Rahul Dravid weighs in on diminishing significance of home advantage

Thursday, 24-Apr-2025
News

In the ongoing season of Indian Premier League, several teams have voiced concerns over the diminishing significance of home ground advantage. However, Rajasthan Royals’ head coach, Rahul Dravid, has offered a nuanced perspective on the matter. Dravid has posited that the number of players coming into new franchises has led to a lack of familiarity with home venues.

“I think it depends from ground to ground really. I'm not really sure what specific franchises might have wanted from their curators, so to speak, but home advantage, generally, the teams are new as well right after a big auction,” Dravid said during the press conference.

Dravid cited the examples of Nitish Rana and Phil Salt, who both are playing for different teams now. Rana, who last year played for KKR, is now with RR. While Phil Salt, who also played for KKR last year, is now playing for RCB.

“It's the first year after a big auction, so for a lot of the players as well, even though they may be your home players, they are playing for those teams or those grounds for the first time. For example, in the case of, say, at RCB, someone like Phil Salt was at KKR and he's coming here for the first time. I'm just using him as an example. We have players in our team, for example, someone like Nitish Rana, was not with us and he's playing for us this year, so for him, Jaipur is actually kind of a new ground," he said.

“So, I think that when you just have a big auction and there's a change of squad, the home advantage may not be that significant. But maybe as you go later on into the cycle, maybe you might start seeing their significance a little bit more because then your players get to practice and play a little bit more,” added Dravid.

 

Tags

More News

News

“It was because of him that I started playing”: Shubman Gill on his father’s message post double hundred

3 hrs ago

Indian batter Shubman Gill smashed the record-breaking double hundred on day two of the ongoing second Test at Edgbaston against England on Thursday, putting the hosts under tremendous pressure. Gill (269), with his double ton, became the first Indian batter to hit most runs outside the Indian subcontinent, shattering Sachin Tendulkar's record of 241. However, he missed out...


News

India's white-ball tour of Bangladesh remains in uncertainty

6 hrs ago

India’s white-ball tour of Bangladesh, involving three ODIs and as many T20Is, is reportedly set to be called off due to political hostility between both nations. India were scheduled to kick off their tour of Bangladesh with three ODIs on August 17, 20 and 23, respectively. While T20I matches were to be played on August ...


News

SL vs BAN 2nd ODI: Struggling Bangladesh confront fired-up Sri Lanka

7 hrs ago

Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will once again be against each other as they prepare to cross paths in the second ODI, set to be played on Saturday (July 5) at R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. Sri Lanka, having romped to a solid 77-run win in the first game on the back of a commanding batting display put on by Charith Asalanka, sc...


News

England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt to miss the 3rd T20I vs India

8 hrs ago

England’s regular skipper, Nat Sciver-Brunt, has been ruled out of the third T20I against India due to a left groin injury. In her absence, veteran batter Tammy Beaumont will lead the side in the third match, set to be played on Friday at The Oval. According to ECB, “Results of the scan will determine whether Sciver-Brunt is required to miss any mor...


News

England in a mess after Gill launches India to a mountainous 587

9 hrs ago

Team India have stamped their authority in the ongoing second Test against England at Edgbaston with a commanding performance across both batting and bowling departments. After putting out a colossal first-innings total of 587 runs, India tightened their grip on the match by reducing England to 77/3 by stumps on Day Two (Thursday). 

The star of t...