BCCI directs India Under-19 players not to attend IPL trials

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has directed the members of the Indian Under-19 team not to take part in trial sessions conducted by any of the IPL franchises prior to the ICC U-19 World Cup 2016 which begins on January 22, The Indian Express reports. The youngsters have also been advised to avoid playing any competitive games as there is a risk of getting injured.

India’s 15-member squad for the tournament set to be hosted by Bangladesh was announced last week and with less than a month remaining before the high-profile tournament begins, the BCCI has ordered the players not to take part in IPL trials as it could distract the youngsters in addition to the possibility of injuries.

“Players are just advised to have a light session at the nets and try to avoid any competitive game. We don’t want any of these selected players to get injured while playing a league cricket. We have even advised them not to go for any IPL trials as it can be a distraction. At the same time, there can be a risk of getting injured,” a BCCI official said.

The directive was issued by the board a few days ago in the wake of IPL defending champions Mumbai Indians conducting a camp at Baroda a few days ago. With the other franchises set to follow suit, India under-19 team manager Manoj Sharma issued a message which read, “No player will attend any tournament, practice match, or any trials except (the) Vijay Hazare tournament.”

With the tournament coming to a close on Sunday after Gujarat beat Delhi in the finals, the youngsters are now expected to channel their focus solely on the Under-19 World Cup, a tournament India has tasted success thrice having emerged winners in 2000, 2008 and 2012.

Sarfaraz Khan and Armaan Jaffer excited to learn from Rahul Dravid

Mumbai duo Sarfaraz Khan and Armaan Jaffer are looking forward eagerly to work under the guidance of coach Rahul Dravid, starting with the conditioning camp which begins from January 3 in Bengaluru. While the former has interacted with the former Indian batsmen previously, Armaan, nephew of former Mumbai cricketer Wasim Jaffer, has already started preparing questions for Dravid.

There were plenty of things that I have learned from Rahul Sir, including on how he remains calm at all times.” said Sarfaraz.

“I have been newly inducted into the team,” Jaffer said. “He (Rahul) has been a legend, I will ask him how he handled pressure in tough situations.”