Batsman AB de Villiers has conceded he is yet to establish an appropriate tempo, ahead of South Africa's Twenty20 International series against Pakistan, which gets underway in Durban on Friday.

De Villiers, who quit the T20I captaincy earlier this year, has only played six matches since 2011, excluding the World Twenty20 - and was recently for the series against New Zealand.

"I still haven't found my rhythm in T20 cricket for South Africa. I feel we haven't played a lot, so it is difficult to find your way when we play one or two matches in a series then three or four months down the line you play another one, it's difficult to find the rhythm, especially with the captaincy," said de Villiers.

The Proteas' inexperienced squad for the two-match series features seamer Chris Morris, spinner Aaron Phangiso, wicketkeeper-batsman Quniton de Kock, opener Henry Davids and the uncapped Kyle Abbott.

"It is a nice way of giving youngsters a chance to perform and to showcase their talent. The squad we have now will not change too much over the next 12 months. If we play a lot of cricket together the results will start to show," added de Villiers.

"I definitely see why we are doing that, there are so many youngsters that have come through that have won games for their domestic teams on a regular basis."

The Proteas, meanwhile, are wary of an opposition just one position inferior in the International Cricket Council's Twenty20 rankings - and eager to bounce back from a three-nil drubbing in the Test series.

"I have seen the names in their T20 squad and there are some serious cricketers out there. We are playing in our home conditions, so we have some confidence from that but they are a dangerous side," insisted de Villiers.

"They don't only have world-class players but they have experience as well. They have won World Cups before. They are a really good team and I think they will be a good challenge for us."