Loyalty Over Money For Dravid!

Rahul Dravid took no time to reunite with Rajasthan Royals after finishing a highly successful tenure as India's head coach.

It was a no-brainer for Dravid as he immediately accepted the offer from Royals, who had come to his rescue during the 2011 IPL auction when he looked all set to go unsold.

His previous franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (then Royal Challengers Bangalore) including owner Vijay Mallya and mentor Anil Kumble decided not to bid for Dravid, who was then snapped up by Royals for $500,000 and there has been no looking back since.

Dravid was in high demand after guiding India to the T20 World Cup and a few big IPL franchises even offered him blank cheques to join them but his choice was clear.

'The former India coach, who has reached the pinnacle of his coaching career after guiding India through two excellent World Cup campaigns in successive years, remains highly sought after in the coaching market, especially on the IPL circuit. Yet, Dravid has remained steadfastly loyal to the Royals, a franchise not necessarily known for great success. He seems to remember the gesture from the 2011 auction so vividly that he has turned down offers from high-profile franchises, even those virtually willing to hand him blank cheques,' said a report in Cricbuzz.

Dravid took over the Royals captaincy following the retirement of the great Shane Warne from the IPL in 2012. He retired from all forms of cricket in 2013 before taking up the mentor and coach role at Royals the following season.

He also enjoys a strong relationship with his employers India Cements for nearly two-and-a-half decades now. When he was first approached by India Cements for play them in the local league in the last 1990s, he was asked to name his price to play but the humble Dravid only asked for Rs 40,000 so he could buy a new Maruti 800 car.

'A popular story in the Chennai cricket circle is that when Dravid was approached by India Cements to play in the local league, he was asked to name his price. Dravid, with a bank balance of INR 80,000 at the time, requested only INR 40,000 so he could purchase a Maruti 800, leaving the rest to the discretion of India Cements management,' the Cricbuzz report added.

'To this day, his association with the company remains strong, and he continues to be an employee. Loyalty!'