Abu Dhabi: Former South African wicketkeeper Mark Boucher feels the underdog tag might be a blessing in disguise for Proteas going into the 2019 World Cup in England.

“See, people look at the team during every World Cup and on paper we are a good team,” said Boucher, who is in the capital as coach of the Pretoria-based Multiply Titans — taking part in the Abu Dhabi T20 tournament starting Thursday. “I think we are probably going into this World Cup not such a good team on paper, which could be a good thing for South Africa.

“I think we are nowhere near the best team. It is a good space to go in out there and surprise a few. If you get into the semi-final or final then anything can happen. One good innings can win the day for you, so consistently we have to be at our best to get to a semi-final stage; then who knows.”

Boucher, who holds the record for the most Test dismissals by a wicketkeeper — 532 catches but who had to cut short his career after a serious eye injury against Somerset in 2012, was of the view that the choker tag has been unfairly used for the South Africa team.

“The choking word comes out all the time and I feel that’s unfair because to win a World Cup you also need a lot of luck to go your way,” he said. “There are a lot of good teams playing in the world at the moment.”

Boucher also felt that the current team lacks depth in the batting with void created by the retirement of AB de Villiers.

“Look, our bowling is good and we have good bowlers coming through. We have got good results as well,” said Boucher. “I think the batting is a bit of a worry and if you lose AB then you are losing a big player in the team. Who is going to step into his position that we don’t know yet. There are a lot of players being used at the moment to try and test them.”

Boucher also feels that South African skipper Faf du Plessis should take De Villiers No. 4 position in the batting order to add more stability.

“I think Faf has to take AB in a very senior role, moving to No 4 which then opens up No 3 position,” he said. “Yes, we have a couple of guys who have been in there, but till now, none of them have been able to put their hands up and say ‘that’s my position’.”

Speaking about the challenge in the Abu Dhabi T20, Boucher added: “We have come out here to win. We believe we have the squad to do it. It is about performing out there in this heat and we will see how we can handle it. We are looking to take as much experience as possible from this tournament.”