ABBOTTABAD, May 8: Playing tough cricket on an arduous tour to South Africa has given added mental strength to the players which will help them in the forthcoming ICC Champions Trophy, Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq said on Wednesday.

On a demanding visit to South Africa recently, Pakistan were blanked 0-3 in the three-Test series. The tourists showing some fight in the five-match ODI rubber but lost it 2-3.

Misbah however believes the hard contests will help his charges in the ICC event to be staged in England and Wales.

“We have some good opponents in our group [in the Champions Trophy]. However, I believe our players gained from playing hard cricket in testing South African conditions and that helps you get mentally more focused for demanding [playing] conditions [in England and Wales]. Hopefully, the boys will get benefit from it,” Misbah said while talking to reporters at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium here on Wednesday.

The six-day national training camp, which ended here on Wednesday, was aimed at preparing the 15-member squad for the June 6-23 Champions Trophy. Legendary batsman Javed Miandad and iconic fast bowler Wasim Akram gave useful tips to the players during the camp conducted by the team’s head coach Dav Whatmore, bowling coach Mohammad Akram and fielding coach Julien Fountain.

Five young fast bowlers, selected from the countrywide Ufone-PCB King of Speed trials, also attended the camp here.

Prior to the Champions Trophy, Pakistan will play two ODIs each against Scotland and Ireland later this month. The Misbah-captained men are in group ‘B’ along with the West Indies, South Africa and India in the Champions Trophy. Group ‘A’ consists of defending champions Australia, England, Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

The national squad is scheduled to leave for Scotland from Lahore on May 13.

The Pakistan skipper emphasised the significance of Test cricket for improvement in the game’s limited-overs versions.

“If you feature in plenty of limited-overs [ODI and T20] matches you don’t get much stronger technically,” he insisted. “Being a professional when you establish yourself in Test matches and technically your basics are strong, you have more opportunities to do well in ODI and T20 cricket.”

Keeping in view that ODI and T20 formats require quick approach and top-notch physical fitness from players, Misbah said the same were given specific attention during the camp here and hoped the efforts would earn positive results in the ICC event.

Replying to a question regarding the axing of experienced pros Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi owing to their lack of good form, Misbah said situations sometimes demanded tough decisions.

“It’s tough to compete without your senior players but sometimes you have to take such decisions,” he said. “We still have several match-winning performers in the team [selected for the Champions Trophy] which is a nice blend of youth and experience.

“The experienced players are guiding their junior partners and hopefully the team with unity will produce good results.”

Acknowledging the fine efforts made by the team management for fulfilling his players’ requirements, the captain lauded the top-class training facilities provided during the national camp at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium.

Meanwhile, Whatmore sounded upbeat about Pakistan’s chances in the elite eight-nation ICC competition but he was guarded as well.

“These players have the talent to deliver. If they play to their potential they can put pressure on any opponent, so that’s our goal, our goal is obviously to win it,” the burly Australian said. “We have achieved enough during this camp but still we have to work hard in some areas. Every game in the Champions Trophy will be a tough ask.”

While a few practice games, featuring different combinations of competing teams were played during the camp, special physical fitness sessions were held at the well-equipped Pakistan Army School of Physical Fitness.