Kirsten said his priority against New Zealand, who they face in Paarl in the first of three one-dayers from Saturday, is to win the series- using a rotation of leading players and particularly the bowlers.
"We're still exploring," he said. "With a Test series against Pakistan coming up, we don't necessarily want to use our top bowlers in every game but it is also important that we have a good understanding of who our best players are."
Kirsten said rotating key bowlers like Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel was to focus on mental freshness and not necessarily about physical fitness.
"Test cricket is our number one. We will always play our full strength team in every Test we play," he said.
"But in other versions of the game something has to give and we are mindful of how we manage the workload, particularly of our bowlers. They are physically fit enough to play in every game but it is more about mental fitness. I want every player to be 100 percent mentally ready when they play for South Africa."
