During an impromptu press conference yesterday morning after an outdoor bout with the persevering journalists was called off due to the rain at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium after a practice session, Dravid mentioned that none of the happenings over the past month would play on the players' consciousness.

"Obviously it seems that what happens off the field plays on the players' mind. But for them there is a simple formula: they love the game and want to play. That's what the guys focus on, most of the times.

"Lot of these peripheral issues which people think might affect the team but it is something that they are not weighed down by. It has been a disappointment at the World Cup but the spirit has come back to the camp where the boys are hungry and they are very keen to play good cricket," said Dravid.

Issues ranging from the resignation of former coach Greg Chappell and the ensuing controversies surrounding alleged factions inside the team do not bother the genial batsman.

"The boys haven't had that (the contracts issue) in their mind. They have their focus on the cricket. Those things will be taken care of whenever it has to be," said the right-handed batsman.

Asked to comment on a recent disclosure where an Indian television channel had one of the selectors speak of rift and possible non-cooperation between him and senior players Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar, he replied: "I am not going to react on this type of sting operation. To be honest, I had as much support as I needed. I was very happy with the team. I do not really know from where all these came from."

He also declined to term this series as a 'fresh start', claiming that the selectors were more focussed on correcting the mistakes made a month ago in the premier one-day event. It is not an end or beginning, claimed Dravid.

He however sounded sympathetic towards Manoj Tiwari who was forced to leave his first tour with the national side due to a shoulder injury.

"It is really sad for him and also disappointing from the team's point of view. The positive thing is he is still young and a lot of cricket is ahead of him. Manoj took the disappointment in a matured way unlike a 20-year-old.

"The decision to send him back (to Kolkata) was because he would not have seen any action as the recovery would have taken some time but in this time he can see a specialist," said the captain who took charge back in 2005, succeeding Ganguly.

But the matter in hand -- today's match against Bangladesh -- is firmly on Dravid's mind.

"We are not focusing on any particular player. But definitely we concentrated on their whole team. We have got a bit more first-hand information about them now after the World Cup and that will surely help us," remarked Dravid.

On March 17, tyro opener Tamim Iqbal tore into the India attack with a blistering half-century and Dravid did not forget about it.

"He had a good game against us in the World Cup. We were really surprised at the way he came out and attacked our bowlers.

"He made a big impact on that game. He deserves credit for that. On a day he plays well he might come off. But we also back ourselves to be able to bowl well to him," explained the captain.

Dravid however was quick to fend off any comparison between the erstwhile coach Greg Chappell and Ravi Shastri's current role as cricket manager.

"It is not possible for him to do any magic in two or three days at the camp. But what he had brought to the team is some of his experience and some of his knowledge of the game. He played for India and watched cricket around the world as a commentator for so many years. He talked to the boys a lot in the camp. There were many valuable comments and we enjoyed our moments there."