Quinton de Kock, South Africa’s swashbuckling wicket-keeper batsman, has said that he will retire from the 50-over game following the 2018 World Cup in India, which runs from October 5 to November 19. The 30-year-old has played in 140 games since making his format debut in 2013. With 17 100s and 29 half-centuries, the left-handed opener has 5966 ODI runs under his belt at an average of 44.85. In the format, De Kock has also been dismissed 197 times (183 catches, 14 stumpings).
Enoch Nkwe, the director of cricket for South Africa, praised Quinton de Kock for his “exceptional service to South African cricket.” He was a crucial player of the team for a lot of years and set the standard for attacking batting. He also wore the captain’s armband, which is a position that not many individuals are given.
In 50-over cricket, De Kock got off to a blazing start, going on to become the fourth-fastest hitter to reach 1000 runs (in 21 innings). He led the team in 2020–2021 and recorded his career-high score in Centurion—178 against Australia in 2016. The daring batsman left Test cricket in 2021 and will now be counted on to play longer in the shorter format.
We want to thank him for his service over the years and we understand his choice to retire from ODI cricket. Although we wish him well in the future, we still want to see him play for the Proteas in T20I cricket.
De Kock would only miss two BBL matches in his maiden season at the tournament in December as a result of his national commitment in India, as compared to three if he continued to play ODIs.
