TOP STORIES
Rahul Dravid weighs in on diminishing significance of home advantage
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
PAK vs AUS, 2nd ODI: Confident Pakistan eye series win
Pakistan are gearing up to lock horns with Australia in the second ODI on Tuesday in Lahore, looking to seal the three-match series 2-0. The hosts are coming into the second ODI with momentum on their side, having demolished under-strength Australia in the first ODI in Rawalpindi. Delivering an all-round performance, Pakistan secured a thumping five-wicket win ...
IPL 2026: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi caps off the season with historic award sweep
Rajasthan Royals sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi capped off a fruitful IPL 2026 campaign by bagging three of the tournament's biggest individual honours. He won the Most Valuable Player (MVP), Orange Cap, and Emerging Player awards. The teenage batting prodigy enjoyed one of the most extraordinary seasons in IPL history, finishing as the tournament's leading run...
IPL 2026: RCB receive huge sum following title defence
Royal Challengers Bengaluru recorded a spectacular five-wicket win over Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2026 final in Ahmedabad on Sunday to clinch their consecutive IPL titles. At the heart of this victory was the legendary batter and chasemaster Virat Kohli, whose 75 unbeaten runs lifted the side to their back-to-back IPL titles.
Earlier, deciding to bowl, R...
West Indies name squad for Sri Lanka ODIs, Hetmyer returns
West Indies have named their squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, beginning on June 3 at Sabina Park. West Indies have received a timely boost to their squad with the return of a few experienced players as they begin preparations for next year's ICC Cricket World Cup. Shimron Hetmyer and pace spearhead Alzarr...
"There's a reason we got here first": Virat Kohli after RCB seal back-to-back IPL titles
Royal Challengers Bengaluru successfully defended their championship crown, overcoming Gujarat Titans with a five-wicket win in the IPL 2026 final. RCB became the third franchise in the history of the IPL to retain the trophy, joining the elite company of Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.
In the summit clash, RCB strangulated GT in all departments w...
Android App
iOS App
YouTube
Facebook
Instagram