COLOMBO, July 19: South Africa, led by their first non-white captain Ashwell Prince, arrived in Sri Lanka on Wednesday to play two Tests and a one-day series also featuring India.
The Proteas are depleted by the absence of regular captain Graeme Smith and star all-rounder Jacques Kallis, both of whom are injured.
Veteran pace bowler Shaun Pollock will also miss the first Test, having chosen to stay home with his wife who is expecting a child next week.
Only 12 of the 14 players arrived on Wednesday, Rookie spinner Thandi Tshabalala, will join the squad next week from Australia where he is representing a junior South Africa team.
The South Africans begin the six-week tour with a three-day match in Colombo from Saturday.
The two back-to-back Tests and the tri-series will also be played in Colombo.
The first Test will be held at the Sinhalese Sports Club from July 27-31 and the second at the P. Sara Stadium from Aug 4-8.
The tri-series will be played at the R. Premadasa Stadium and the SSC Ground from Aug 14-29.
Sri Lanka are buoyant after a successful tour of England where they fought back to draw the Test series 1-1 and blanked the hosts 5-0 in the one-dayers.
South African squad: Ashwell Prince (captain), Jacques Rudolph, Hashim Amla, Nicky Boje, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, Boeta Dippennaar, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Shaun Pollock, Dale Steyn, Thandi Tshabalala.