On IPL auction days I was bit worried, reveals Rahul Dravid

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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Rahul Dravid has revealed that he was worried during the auction of the upcoming Indian Premier League season as he wanted the U-19 team to focus only on their U-19 World Cup campaign. The former Indian batsman also added that he was impressed with the youngsters' dedication regardless of that.

Even before the Indian youngsters got their superstar status following their Under-19 World cup campaign in New Zealand, some from the lot had already made a name for themselves on the domestic circuit. Hence, they were expected to go at IPL’s mega-auction that was scheduled to take place on January 27 and 28. 

Head coach Rahul Dravid revealed that he was worried about the young players’ focus during the auction time, especially when India took on Bangladesh on January 26. Though the team comfortably won the quarterfinal match by 131 runs, Dravid claimed that it was hard for the colts to remain unaffected by the cash-rich league.

"That week during the IPL auction was a bit stressful but credit to the boys, once that was done they came back to practice and switched on. Only those three days I was a bit worried," Dravid said as quoted by PTI.

U-19 skipper Prithvi Shaw and others like Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti, who grabbed the attention for their pace bowling, and Shubman Gill, who grabbed limelight after his brilliant ton against Pakistan, got good deals at the auction. 

While Shaw (1.2 crores) was bought by Delhi Daredevils, Mavi (3 crores), Nagarkoti (3.2 crores), and Gill (1.8 crores) all went for high prices to Kolkata Knight Riders. However, despite the hype around and after the auction, the whole team managed to focus towards the game and successfully lifted the trophy for the fourth time. 

"We had some loose curfews, sometimes they followed it. What impressed me was the level of maturity they showed in the age of social media, most of which I am not even aware of," Dravid added.

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