IPL 2018 auctions will be a distraction during Johannesburg Test, admits Faf du Plessis

Team South Africa is all pumped up to take on the visiting Indian side in the final Test of the three-match Test series. Having won the series already, the hosts only have total domination on their mind. Skipper Faf du Plessis expects his team to whitewash the number one ranked Indian side. Amidst all this, the Johannesburg Test is set to collide with the dates of the much hyped IPL auctions.

The IPL 2018 auctions will take place this weekend and the build up to the event is huge. The biggest names of the cricket world are all set to enter the auctions and the South African players are no exception to the list. The likes of Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, and Faf du Plessis himself are some of the big names in the IPL auction pool.

Amidst this backdrop, it is obvious that the players would be thinking about the IPL auctions during the Test match. Faf du Plessis, as per the quotes in Sportskeeda, remarked that the IPL is a big part of any cricketer’s life. Hence, it is obvious that the players will have thoughts about it during the game.

“Well we don’t have our phones, so it’s difficult to check (the auction). There will be distractions, and that is normal, it’s human. The IPL plays a big part in all of our lives. For the management and myself, it’s important to make sure we keep the focus and the energy driving towards the Test match,” quoted Faf du Plessis.

Try to focus on the game

Speaking further on the same note, Faf du Plessis mentioned that it will be the duty of the captain and the team management to ensure that the players stay focused about the job in hand and not think too much about the auctions.

“And at the end of the day’s play, if we want to talk about the auction a little bit, we can do that but to make sure that the next day, when it’s Test match time again, we are switched on and focused,” he added further.

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