Focus on World Cup, not IPL: Dravid to U-19 squad

Indian U-19 cricket team head coach Rahul Dravid has asked his players to focus on the ongoing World Cup and not to get diverted by the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, which begins on January 27, just a day after their quarter-finals match against Bangladesh.

As many as nine U-19 Indian players are among the 578 cricketers that will go under the hammer for the 11th edition of the league.

"The auction is not something the boys can control. One or two auctions won't really have a long-term impact on their careers. There is an auction every year, but not every year will they have an opportunity to play for India in possibly a World Cup semi-final. That doesn't come very often," ESPNcricinfo quoted Dravid as saying.

Dravid, who has been part of the six IPL auctions as a player, also insisted that his team was focused and had their priorities sorted.

"I don't feel worried about it. I think this group of guys are really focused on playing good cricket here," he said.

"We talked about the auction once and we said let's keep that out of our minds," the former Indian captain added.

The auction pool includes- skipper Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill, Himanshu Rana, Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Arshdeep Singh and Harvik Desai- from the U-19 team.

IPL 2018 edition would be held from April 6 to May 27.