South African wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock has made a surprise return to ODI cricket, reversing his retirement decision less than a year after stepping away from the 50-over format. He has been named in both the ODI and T20I squads for the upcoming tour of Pakistan in October, as well as for a one-off T20I clash in Namibia.
De Kock’s Sudden U-Turn
De Kock had previously announced his ODI retirement after the 2023 World Cup, with his last international white-ball appearance coming in the 2024 T20 World Cup final in Barbados. While he had not officially retired from T20Is, his absence from national squads left questions about his long-term future. During this period, he continued to feature in T20 leagues worldwide, including the recently concluded CPL.
Head coach Shukri Conrad revealed that de Kock expressed a renewed commitment to represent South Africa.
“𝑸𝒖𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒏’𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆-𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒋𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒖𝒔,” 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒓𝒂𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚.”
Career Record and Future Outlook
At the time of his retirement announcement, de Kock had hinted at the possibility of returning for South Africa’s 2027 home World Cup, though he downplayed the chances.
“𝑨𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕, 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘. 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏.
De Kock’s record speaks volumes about his impact:
- 155 ODIs: 6770 runs at an average of 45.74, strike rate 96.64
- 92 T20Is: 2584 runs at a strike rate of 138.32
- Featured in three ODI World Cups (2015, 2019, 2023)
His comeback adds firepower to South Africa’s batting lineup, as the team gears up for important fixtures and eyes the long-term goal of the 2027 World Cup.
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