"We've spoken to the guys going to the IPL" - Mark Boucher feels playing in the UAE will help South Africa players
South Africa head coach Mark Boucher believes playing in the UAE during the IPL will prove to be beneficial for South African players representing their respective franchises. A total of six Proteas players will play in the second leg of the IPL 2021.
Meanwhile, the remainder of the squad is expected to play domestic cricket in South Africa in a bid to prepare for the showcase event next month.
Coming off the back of an impressive string of T20 series wins, South Africa are in fine form at the moment. The Proteas have now won three successive away T20 series in West Indies, Ireland and Sri Lanka.
Boucher outlined the importance of peaking at the right time. He also revealed that he has spoken with the players who will be traveling for the IPL. While speaking to ESPN Cricinfo, Boucher said:
"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. 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," Boucher said.
The pace trio of Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi will be seen in action during the IPL season. Nortje and Rabada have particularly fond memories of the venue after being among the wickets in the last edition of the IPL.
Quinton de Kock, David Miller and Aiden Markram make up the rest of the South African contingent in the IPL. Markram was a late call up by the Punjab Kings to replace Dawid Malan.
You can check out the IPL 2021 teams and squads here.
This team realised that we are definitely not the finished product: Mark Boucher
South Africa finished their tour of Sri Lanka on a high after succumbing to defeat in the ODI series. Boucher noted that they still have areas to improve upon despite the fine run of form. Boucher added:
"This team realised that we are definitely not the finished product, so there's a lot of things we speak about. 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."
South Africa have now won seven T20Is in a row and have equalled their record for the most successive wins in the shortest format, one they achieved back in 2009.
The Proteas will have a chance to extend their winning run to eight matches in their opening encounter of the T20 World Cup against Australia.