Rashid Latif has endured a stressful few months

Latif has decided he wants a break from the game because of what he described as "family commitments".

The 34-year-old recently resigned the captaincy and also served a five-game ban for claiming a controversial catch during a game against Bangladesh.

"I will be available for the home and away series against New Zealand after the South Africa Tests," he said.

"I will be playing the last two one-dayers in Rawalpindi after which I have some commitments to take care of," he said.

Latif's international career has been marked by a number of run-ins with the Pakistan cricket authorities.

Earlier this year he announced he would be retiring from international cricket following the World Cup in South Africa, but was talked out of it and given the captaincy.

But he fell foul of the Pakistan Cricket Board after writing an unauthorised letter to the International Cricket Council in which he claimed players were still being approached to fix matches.

Latif led Pakistan to a Test series whitewash against Bangladesh but had to sit out the one-day games which followed because of the ban.

His subsequent resignation prompted claims that he had given up the captaincy because of a dispute with chief selector Aamir Sohail.

He insisted, however, that his decision was a personal one.

Kamran Akmal is the favourite to take over the gloves for the South Africa Tests, the first of which starts in Lahore on 17 October.