Overview:
In 54 Tests for South Africa, he scored 3300 runs.
South Africa wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock is enjoying returning to play for the team in white-ball cricket, but the veteran has refused to compete in Test cricket. He retired from ODIs after the 2023 ODI World Cup and was not selected after the T20 World Cup in 2024 in the shortest format of the game.
De Kock agreed to come out of retirement in ODIs for the series against Pakistan and has shown his class for the Proteas. The 32-year-old has amassed 353 runs in six ODIs at an average above 72, with the help of two centuries and two half-centuries since his comeback. In T20Is, he has accumulated 121 runs in six matches, with his 90-run knock helping South Africa win the second match against India in New Chandigarh.
He said that his hunger to play for South Africa was dying, and he moved away from the game to get his motivation back.
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“I was losing hunger to win matches before I took retirement. There is a renowned energy now, and I want to win every game for my country. Before, it was not easy to wake up for the matches. When you start playing against one team again and again, you don’t like it. I have played against India multiple times at home and away. I was looking for a new goal, but I was not getting it,” he added.
The southpaw said that he can now prolong his career. “I was missing cricket, and I realised it after coming back. I can play for a long time,” he added.
De Kock’s last Test for South Africa was against India in 2021, and he retired after that. He is not interested in playing Test cricket again. “It is a straight no when it comes to playing Test cricket,” he concluded. In 54 Tests for South Africa, he scored 3300 runs.