IPL auction 2018: Dravid urges U19 boys to focus on quarterfinal against Bangladesh

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Bengaluru, January 25: India U19 coach Rahul Dravid asked his wards to concentrate on the immediate challenge ahead - the quarterfinal against Bangladesh - than on the IPL auction to be held in Bengaluru on January 27 and 28.

India U19 cricketers like Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill, Himanshu Rana, Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Arshdeep Singh and Harvik Desai have been drafted into the auction pool in various categories.

"There's no point hiding from the fact that it is there. There's no point living in the bubble and pretending it doesn't exist. We do discuss it. We've spoken about what their focus should be and what their long-term goals are as compared to their short-term goals," said Dravid.

"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 semifinal," said Dravid.

"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," he said.

"We're not thinking past the next game against Bangladesh. We lost to them in the Asia Cup. We are aware of the fact that Bangladesh is a good team. The focus is right now on doing well against Bangladesh," said Dravid.