Proteas limited overs captain Quinton de Kock said his Test captaincy leadership gig will only be a temporary one for this particular summer.

It is a summer that will consist of two Tests starting on Boxing Day against Sri Lanka at SuperSport Park in Centurion.

That engagement will be followed by two away Tests against Pakistan in Karachi and Rawalpindi.

Australia‚ who have been understandably tense with regards to coming to South Africa because of the Covid-19 positive tests that occurred in the bio-bubble during the England series‚ will be the later summer tourists.

“The guys called me and told me about the situation that we’re in and I understood where they are coming from.

"I didn’t accept the job immediately and I did think about it.

"I do understand that it’s only for this season and it’s not a long term thing. We’ll only see when someone really puts up their hands‚” De Kock said.

“The guys are keen on getting a person in for the long term role in leadership and I won’t be doing that. There does seem to be a lot on my plate but I’m happy to do it for now.”

Sri Lanka were also concerned by the compromised integrity of the South African bio-bubble that led to the cancellation of the money spinning ODI series against England after the T20 series against the same team was completed without any hassles.

South Africa had three positive tests within that bio-bubble tests that could have had an impact on how the summer could pan out.

De Kock though understood the level of responsibility they need to operate with under the current bio-bubble.

“Within the bubble‚ we do have protocols and everyone has been adhering to them.

"We’ve got that little more responsibility‚ but it’s nothing that we can’t handle and the small part of it is just us helping out to ensure we secure future tours.

"We’ll do our little bit to ensure the bubble is well maintained‚” De Kock said.

South Africa has not played a Test match since the 3-1 reverse against England in January‚ but have put in a fair bit of international limited overs mileage while five rounds of domestic red-ball cricket have given squad members an opportunity to get to grips with the longer format.

De Kock‚ who said he’ll be keeping in the Tests‚ did not play for the Titans/Dolphins game that was eventually drawn because of a positive Covid-19 test that led to the cancellation of that particular fixture‚ said they’ve got ground to make up against Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka beat South Africa 2-0 last year to become the first Asian team to win a Test series in South Africa.

“We’re eager to get back on the test field. It’s been a while and it’s also nice to have a change of format because there’s been a lot of T20 cricket this year.

"The guys are hungry and it was nice to see a red-ball again. We don’t have a lot of guys who were part of the losing team against Sri Lanka last year‚” De Kock said.

“There’s a lot we need to rectify against Sri Lanka. They came here and they hurt us on our own patch.

"I’m going to keep in Test cricket. I actually wasn’t going to keep in the England ODI’s as I was going to give someone else a chance.

"In the Test team‚ we are looking at ways of getting things off my shoulders‚ but I need to be there as keeper‚ so I will stay in the position.”