Quinton de Kock, the South African Wicketkeeper-Batter, has announced his retirement today from Test Cricket.
Cricket South Africa stated in its explanation that De Kock, 29, intends to devote more time to his family.
De Kock’s most recent Test was against India in Centurion, which won the visitors on Thursday. He scored 34 and 21 runs in the two innings, respectively, and took seven catches in the match.
De Kock’s Test Career
In February 2014, De Kock made his Test debut against Australia in Port Elizabeth. From then on, he scored 3300 runs in 54 Tests, with six centuries and 22 half-centuries at an average of 38.82.
De Kock has 232 dismissals besides his name as a wicketkeeper, including 221 catches and 11 stumpings.
Quinton De Kock has also taken the third-most catches in the inaugural ICC World Test Championship – 48 of every 11 matches (47 catches and 1 blunder) – and has an individual best of six catches in an innings against England in Centurion in 2019.
Quinton De Kock as a Captain
De Kock had been Faf du Plessis’ was the vice-captain for several years and was expected to take over when the lastly du Plessis stepped down in February 2020.
While leading South Africa in four Tests against Sri Lanka and Pakistan between December 2020 and February 2021, De Kock stated that he did not intend to stay in the position indefinitely and was eventually replaced by current captain Dean Elgar.
Retirement Announcement
“It was not a choice I have made lightly. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what my future looks like and what needs to be met in my life because Sasha and I are going to welcome our first child into this world and hope to expand our family beyond that.
My family means everything to me, and I need the opportunity and space to be with them during this particularly exciting period of our lives ” De Kock, who led the team South Africa in four Test matches in the 2020/21 season, agreed.
“That isn’t the end of my professional life as a Protea; I intend to continue playing white ball cricket and representing my country as much as possible in the future. Best wishes to my colleagues for the remainder of this Test series against India ” he added.
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