MUMBAI: Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals has announced Rahul Dravid as the captain of the squad, taking over from Shane Warne.

Dravid will be involved in all aspects of cricket strategy and will guide the youth and talent development initiatives of the Rajasthan Royals. The DLF Indian Premier League is scheduled to begin in Chennai on 4 April 2012.

The Rajasthan Royals captain is incidentally also being bestowed with the "Polly Umrigar Award for India?s best cricketer of 2010-11 season" by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The 38-year-old former Indian captain had a great year in which he scored 1,258 runs in 15 Tests, which included six centuries.

Dravid said, "I am honoured to lead the Rajasthan Royals. I hope to live up to the confidence shown in me by the franchise and give our fans an exciting season of cricket. I look forward to the valuable inputs from my team mates who are already leading their national sides and clubs. My aim will be to get the best out of a very talented squad and invoke the same team spirit that won the franchise the first IPL and has been a hallmark of the Rajasthan Royals ever since. I am confident that by doing so we will have a great chance of doing well in the tournament."

Rajasthan Royals CEO Raghu Iyer said, "We are delighted to announce Dravid as Captain. He epitomises all the values of the Royals franchise with his true grit and never say die attitude. We hope all Royals fans will get behind Rahul and the team in the upcoming seasons."