Players' experience in UAE conditions during IPL will help us in T20 World Cup: Mark Boucher
Head coach Mark Boucher hopes South Africa's T20 World Cup bound players can pick up "bits of information" about the UAE conditions during the Indian Premier League which he feels will stand the team in good stead during the marquee ICC event.
The 44-year-old emphasised that the players need to manage themselves during the league so that they can peak at the right time as a unit for South Africa.
"We've spoken to the guys going to the IPL. They need to stay quite disciplined and realise we want to peak at the right time as a unit," Boucher was quoted as saying by 'ESPNCricinfo'.
"They'll be picking up bits of information about playing in those conditions that will really get them ready for a big tournament and if they manage themselves well and get some good time in the nets and get used to facilities it will stand us in good stead."
The IPL, which was suspended midway in May due to multiple cases of COVID-19 in its bio bubble, is scheduled to be held in the UAE from September 19 to October 15.
The T20 World Cup is slated to begin on October 17 in Oman and UAE.
Boucher's comments come in the wake of South Africa's 3-0 T20 series win over Sri Lanka. The Proteas had earlier notched series victories against West Indies and Ireland.
"This team realised that we are definitely not the finished product, so there's a lot of things we speak about," Boucher said.
"We had a good chat about the lessons we've learnt and where we want to go as a team. We tied the record for the most T20 wins by a South African team. That was one of the records that we were playing for.
"We understand that going into a World Cup each game is as important as the others and this becomes a habit. This is just part of the growth of the team," Boucher added.
