AB de Villiers returned to Test cricket as captain of South Africa in the absence of regular captain Faf du Plessis after he was ruled out of the historic four-day Test against Zimbabwe with a viral infection.
Dale Steyn, also set to make a make comeback into Test cricket, missed the first four-day Test in 44 years due to a viral infection.
“Faf developed a respiratory tract infection which delayed his recovery this week, and subsequently made it difficult for him to make a full recovery in time for the match. He will continue to receive treatment and rehab from our physiotherapist, Craig Govender, Mohammed Moosajee, South Africa's team manager, who is also a medical doctor said.
However, the South African team management is confident that du Plessis will be available for the first Test against India starting on January 5.
“We are hopeful he will recover in time to lead the team for the first Test match against India," Moosajee added.
AB de Villiers on the other hand is returning to Test cricket after almost 24 months. He last played a Test match against England last year in January.
He was an automatic choice to replace du Plessis as captain for the one-off Test as Hashim Amla had shown his reluctance from leading the side.
Temba Bavuma, who had made the No.4 slot his kept his place in the side but it will be interesting to see what the management decides when du Plessis comes back into the side.