The Rajasthan Royals will take on the Mumbai Indians at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Thursday, May 1. RR sit eighth on the IPL 2025 points table with just three wins. Head coach Rahul Dravid stressed the importance of staying focused on immediate results rather than playoff scenarios. He said RR didn’t enter IPL 2025 thinking only about the future and still believe they can turn things around.

“It’s a tight tournament. Teams at the bottom can beat teams at the top. The margins are small. We’re aware that with six points we’re low on the table, but we’re taking it one game at a time. The focus is on winning the next match—not worrying about the table,” Dravid said on Star Sports.

“Even though we’ve kept one eye on the long-term by retaining young Indian players, we didn’t enter the season thinking only about the future. We believe we could win this year. The results haven’t always gone our way, but we’re not using our long-term thinking as an excuse. We’ve been competitive, just small moments have cost us. The players we backed are part of our vision for the future, but also good enough to win now,” he added.

Rahul Dravid Backs Young Core, Says RR Still Aiming for Playoffs

Rahul Dravid then praised the young players for staying composed throughout the season. Despite inconsistent results, he noted their focus and discipline in training.

“What I’ve been proud of is how calm this young group has remained, win or lose. We’ve trained and prepared well throughout, and even after a good performance, like Vaibhav’s last game, we haven’t made too much of a fuss internally. Tomorrow’s game is another opportunity—a big one—against a strong Mumbai Indians side. It’s exciting for our youngsters to test themselves against that level of talent. And hopefully, they’ll be able to put up a good show,” the former cricketer said.

With six points in hand, every match now becomes crucial. RR face a big test against five-time champions MI, who are currently in strong form. A win in Jaipur could reignite RR’s campaign and keep their playoff hopes alive heading into the final phase of the league.