"We need to sit down with him and plan his future," Russell Domingo, South Africa's coach said in a report published on ESPN Cricinfo. "AB has got to make that decision, I can't decide on whether he plays or not.

"When I say that, I mean AB has got to make the decision about whether he is available and the selectors have got to make the decision whether he plays. He has obviously got to make some decision about his future in cricket."

De Villiers has been sidelined for months after having elbow surgery, and missed South Africa's Test series victory over Australia. He stood down as South Africa's Test captain in December. He is said to have recovered from the injury.

"The interests of the team must always outweigh the interests of any individual, including me," de Villiers said at the time he stood down. "It was a fantastic honour for me to be asked to captain the Test side but I have missed two series and I am still in doubt for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka. Following the squad's outstanding performances in Australia, it is clearly in the greater interests of the team that Faf du Plessis should be confirmed as the permanent Test captain."

Du Plessis said he was not sure what de Villiers had in mind, but that he had expressed some doubts about returning to the Test arena, and may instead focus on one-day cricket.

"I'm not sure how A.B. will feel in terms of Test cricket so we will have to see," du Plessis said. "We are excited to have him back in the one-day team. I am hoping he decides to play [Tests] for us. He is obviously a world-class batter and I, as a captain, would love to have him as a leader in our team, and obviously as a batter. He is a fantastic player.

"He hasn't played for a while. The plan was for him to play in this series and then the one-dayers start, but now we will see what AB's plans are - whether he wants to play."

De Villiers, 32, has played 106 Tests for 8076 runs.