"If you have a Test team that is strong and plays regularly, that has spin-offs for the other formats," he told reporters
Gabela, 35, said: "I had to be here and welcome the boys home. They have suffered so many heartbreaks during the past two decades. Now we are champions of the world."
South Africa pacer Kagiso Rabada has been cleared to return to cricket following a reduced suspension for testing positive for a banned recreational substance.
If South Africa beat New Zealand to reach Sunday's decider, they will at least know by then if they will take on India in Dubai, or Australia in Lahore.
Cricket South Africa announced that 24-year-old Coetzee had recovered from a hamstring injury which ruled him out of the current SA20 franchise competition in South Africa.
Nortje was named in South Africa’s squad on Monday, but 48 hours on officials have said he will not recover in time from a back problem ahead of the Group B opener against Afghanistan on Feb. 21. England and Australia are also in the pool.
Only once before in their history have South Africa won more Tests in succession, when they claimed nine victories on the trot between 2002 and 2003.
Five Test wins in a row, made up of away victories over West Indies in Guyana in August, two in Bangladesh in October and two more over Sri Lanka, means South Africa top the table of Test results over the last two-year cycle and are within touching distance of a place in the final at Lord’s from June 11-15.
Victory allowed the Proteas to avenge a shock T20 loss to the same opponents last weekend.
Going by the collective outcry of the cricket fraternity around the world, led by former Australia captain Steve Waugh, it seems that the people running the game in South Africa have just landed the final blow in the gruesome murder of Test cricket.
They head into the last-four with a record of seven victories in nine matches, having lost to India and, surprisingly, the Netherlands.
Hendricks was only in the team after captain Temba Bavuma was ruled out through illness.
The toss was scheduled to take place at 2:00pm Bangladesh Standard Time but ended up taking place at 2:30pm.
Having made his ODI debut in 2013, De Kock has represented South Africa in 140 matches so far, aggregating 5966 runs at an average of 44.85 and a strike rate of 96.08. He has 17 hundreds and 29 fifties to his name with a high score of 178 that came against Australia at Centurion in 2016.
England and South Africa go into Thursday’s final Test at The Oval without key batsmen as each looks to secure a series that is intriguingly poised at 1-1 after emphatic victories by both sides.
Shane Dadswell, a South African student, smashes 490 not out in a limited-overs club match.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi says that they are planning to invite Bangladesh and Pakistan next year.
South Africa's planned T20 Global League has been postponed for a year, which could leave a raft of players seeking compensation.
South African fast bowler Morne Morkel is likely to be out of action for about six weeks because of a side strain, team manager and doctor Mohammed Moosajee said on Monday.
