South Africa's tour of Sri Lanka: Five Proteas players who can make an impact

2. AB De Villiers

The South African captain will be wearing many hats in this tour, but his performance with the bat will be the most crucial. He is the ideal modern-day batsman in many senses. He has the ability to drop anchor and accumulate runs when the going gets tough, whereas he can come lower-down in the order to use the long-handle, to make the best use of the power-play overs and fielding restrictions. He has the technique to occupy the wicket when the pace battery is getting the ball to swing and can counter-attack spinners with his swift foot-work. He has the innovation to release pressure when runs dry out. He just needs to adapt to the slow and dry conditions of the sub-continent and he will be able to make a valuable contribution in this series.