The T20 WC will witness sub-continent conditions ‘on the extreme’ after the IPL, feels Mark Boucher

South Africa head coach Mark Boucher reckoned that the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) is likely to have an impact on the pitches in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the 2021 T20 World Cup. Boucher, who’s also a former Proteas wicketkeeper-batsman, said that the decks in the UAE would wear out and be alike the sub-continent “on the extreme side”.

The second leg of the 2021 IPL will resume on September 19 with the final to be played on October 15. With the T20 WC to get underway on October 17, the authorities have less than a month to get the pitches ready for the mega event after the conclusion of the IPL.

Scores will probably go even further down: Mark Boucher

“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. 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,” Boucher was quoted as saying in ESPNcricinfo.

“If anything, it’s going to go even further into subcontinent conditions, on the extreme side. They are playing the IPL there, there are not a lot of grounds and those wickets are going to be worn so scores will probably go even further down,” he stated.

Boucher fears that batting won’t be an easy task especially against the old ball and the spinners will play a big part during the matches. The veteran feels that the second leg of the IPL will give an insight into the probable scores in the upcoming world event.

“It’s going to be tough to bat on especially at the back end as 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 assess how the wickets are playing during the beginning part of the World Cup. I suspect spinners will play a massive role,” he added.

The Proteas recently won the five-match T20I series against the West Indies 3-2. The pitches at the National Cricket Stadium, St George’s, Grenada helped the spinners. Tabraiz Shamsi became the Player of the Series as he picked up seven wickets at an excellent economy rate of four.