Proteas' fitness levels solid ahead of departure

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Conditioning coach Greg King has revealed South African players' participation in the Indian Premier League did not have an adverse effect on fitness levels, ahead of a testing tour of Sri Lanka next month.

Conditioning coach Greg King has revealed South African players' participation in the Indian Premier League did not have an adverse effect on fitness levels, ahead of a testing tour of Sri Lanka next month.

Batsman JP Duminy, fast bowler Dale Steyn, wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock, ODI captain AB de Villiers, T20I skipper Faf du Plessis, seamer Morne Morkel and leg-spinner Imran Tahir played in the lucrative Twenty20 tournament earlier this year.

"I'm very happy with the results. The guys put in a lot of work during the IPL, which has shown. Luckily I was over there with them so I was able to monitor them and to do a few assessments with the squad members. The last two days have worked out well for us and we are on good track," said King.

"Acclimatising to conditions in Sri Lanka will be a challenge. It's probably going to be one of the big areas that we are going to struggle with given the current conditions in South Africa, so we need to try and get the guys as fit as possible and make sure that they are well prepared before we get there."

The Sri Lankans and Proteas will meet for three ODIs and two Tests between 6 and 28 July. Spinner Dane Piedt and batsman Stiaan van Zyl are the new caps in the touring Test squad, while the inexperienced Beuran Hendricks has been named in the limited-overs collective.

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