Limited-overs captain Shahid Afridi believes that all under-fire Pakistan need is a series win against South Africa to boost their confidence ahead of next year's World Cup after a tumultuous tour of England.
The subcontinent side lost both the Test and one-day series to England, and three of their players - including then captain Salman Butt - were provisionally suspended by the ICC following their alleged involvement in 'spot-fixing' during the last Test at Lord's.
All-rounder Afridi told the News International: "It's all about confidence. We can improve our World Cup chances by boosting our confidence and should do that by winning matches against South Africa and later against New Zealand."
Afridi's side will now meet South Africa in a five-match one-day series in the UAE in November, prior to which they also play two charity Twenty20 international games with the Proteas later this month.
A two-match Test series will follow the limited-overs contests before the team heads out to New Zealand.
The former Test skipper urged Pakistan's players to put the events of the England tour behind them and focus on the impending series.
"We have to forget what happened during the tour of England," said Afridi. "What the team desperately needs is some good results and I'm sure that if we play to our potential we can do that against South Africa."
On the trio of Butt, Mohammad Aamir and Mohammad Asif, who will be unavailable to play in the UAE due to their suspension, the 30-year-old said: "We are going to miss the three because they are our key players.
"But we can't just sit back and cry over it. We have to focus on the upcoming assignments and thankfully, we still have several match-winners in our side."
He added that their spin attack would come in handy on the slow UAE wickets.
"Spinners will certainly be playing the major role in UAE," said Afridi. "The wickets there should give them a lot of assistance."