De Villiers is on the comeback following elbow surgery which has seen him not playing in a Test match since the England series in South Africa at the beginning of last year.

He has, however, ruled himself out of the series against New Zealand next month as well as the series in England in July and August and the home series against Bangladesh.

This means that he will not be playing in the Test against the Tigers at the Mangaung Oval.

De Villiers, who believes he still has eight Tests in him, said he just isn’t ready to play Test cricket yet.

“It’s not an easy decision, that’s for sure,” said the former Proteas Test captain.

“I’m just not ready, that’s the best way that I can put it.

“Like I’ve said, priorities have changed over the years. I’ve played for twelve odd years, my family has changed, my roles in the team have changed and there’s a lot of things that played a role in this decision.

“I wouldn’t like to think it’s the end, I'll hopefully finish on a high and somehow have a role in reaching that number one spot which we deserve after playing the way we have over the last few months.

“It’s definitely not the end of the story”.

De Villiers will link up with the Proteas next week for the third T20 International against Sri Lanka at Newlands.

The first T20 International will be played at SuperSport Park on Friday evening.

Morgan Piek/OFM Sport