The Proteas will be without superstar wicketkeeper/batsman Quinton de Kock for the second and third Tests against India, but skipper Dean Elgar says family comes first in this team.
De Kock will play in the Boxing Day Test at Centurion, but will be unavailable for the second Test in Johannesburg and the third in Cape Town, with him and his wife expecting the birth of their first child in early January.
Elgar confirmed on Friday that there had been no changes to those plans, and while he acknowledged it was a blow to lose a player of De Kock's obvious ability against such challenging opponents, he pointed to the bigger picture.
"Fortunately and unfortunately, Quinny is not available because of the birth of his child, and rightly so," said Elgar.
"It's the biggest moment for him in his life and you have to respect his duty to be a new dad.
"It's disappointing not to have him around, but in saying that, a new life is coming into the world. We've always respected new fathers or fathers-to-be within our team and family comes first for us."
While De Kock's absence should pave the way for a third Test cap for Kyle Verreynne, Ryan Rickelton is another option with his inclusion in the 21-man squad.
"It might just be another game of cricket, but for a lot of guys around it's a lot more," Elgar said.
Play on Sunday starts at 10:00.
Test squads:
South Africa
Dean Elgar (captain, Titans), Temba Bavuma (vice-captain, Lions), Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper, Titans), Kagiso Rabada (Lions), Sarel Erwee (Dolphins), Beuran Hendricks (Western Province), George Linde (Western Province), Keshav Maharaj (Dolphins), Lungi Ngidi (Titans), Aiden Markram (Titans), Wiaan Mulder (Lions), Keegan Petersen (Dolphins), Rassie van der Dussen (Lions), Kyle Verreynne (Western Province), Marco Jansen (Warriors), Glenton Stuurman (Warriors), Prenelan Subrayen (Dolphins), Sisanda Magala (Lions), Ryan Rickelton (Lions), Duanne Olivier (Lions)
India
Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), R Ashwin, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed. Shami, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj
Standby Players: Navdeep Saini, Saurabh Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Arzan Nagwaswalla.