Watching IPL will give us an idea of what scores will be like at T20 World Cup, says Mark Boucher

South Africa head coach Mark Boucher said that they will be keeping an eye on the remainder of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) to understand how the pitches are behaving in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is also the venue for the T20 World Cup later this year.

Boucher said that he expects conditions in the UAE to be similar to those of Grenada, where South Africa managed to beat the West Indies 3-2 in a T20I series.

“It’s going to be tough to bat on especially at the back end, like we saw here. We will have an idea of what scores are going to be by watching the IPL and then taking a look and assessing how the wickets are playing during the beginning of the World Cup. I suspect spinners will play a massive role,” Boucher is quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

“We are probably going to be playing in conditions like this in the UAE. The wickets after the IPL are going to be a bit dry,” said Boucher.

“It’s not the same as we’re used to back in South Africa where you can go out and bash your way to 180 to 200 runs. You’ve got to be skillful here; you’ve got to be smart.”

The T20 World Cup is set to be played in the UAE after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) asked for it to be shifted away from India due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2021 IPL was also halted halfway through the tournament’s group stage due to the deadly second wave of the pandemic raging across the country and breaching the bio-bubble. Although official dates of both tournaments are yet to be declared, the IPL is expected to be held just before the World Cup.