South African batting great Quinton de Kock came back from international retirement to play for South Africa in limited overs cricket. He has clarified that during his stay away from international cricket, he has felt the hunger to win matches for the national team.
Quinton de Kock has been the centerpiece of South Africa’s famous win in New Chandigarh after a disappointing start in Cuttack. He scored 90 runs off just 46 balls and feels that his objective of winning matches for India after the break from international cricket has again been achieved.
I was losing my hunger to win matches for this team: Quinton de Kock
The 32-year-old South African cricketer announced his retirement from ODIs and T20Is after the 2023 World Cup and 2024 T20 World Cup respectively, but has now reversed it with a comeback ahead of the next T20 World Cup in 2026.
“I think before my retirement, I was losing my hunger to win games for this team. That time brought my hunger back. I was telling people, I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way,” De Kock spoke in depth about his reasons for making an international comeback.
He said that earlier, as a young player, he desperately needed to score runs for South Africa, but this time it is a different kind of energy. De Kock was becoming ill and needed a new challenge to regain his appetite.
“Coming back now, I feel like this is really what I missed. Everyone knows, you don’t know what you have until you lose it. Coming back now, there’s a new energy where I feel like I can play longer than I thought before,” said the handsome left-hander.
De Kock has ruled out the possibility of returning to Test cricket
When Quinton de Kock was asked about a return to Test cricket as well as an international comeback in the limited overs game, he firmly said no. He claimed that this break was to rediscover his love for the game.
“When I left, I was quite tired from international cricket. So, I still feel my break was very necessary. So when I have come back now, I have a lot of energy, I feel I can come back for the team.
The Protea batsman said, “I have always told the coach, Shuks (Shukri Conrad), that I want to play as long as possible. I don’t think I would have had the same mentality if I had continued playing. I think I would have finished my career earlier. Now I feel I can prolong my career. I feel fitter than ever before. Mentally too, I am not tired.”
De Kock, who has immense experience in international cricket, said that it is just a matter of coming back as a batsman and doing something as he is back in international cricket. To him, the change seemed very simple.
You have to be able to play all three formats at some point in your career: De Kock
Former South African all-format wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock has represented the national team in all formats of the game. He represented the country in over 50+ Tests and scored almost 5000+ runs in the longest format of the game.
De Kock believes that good cricketers are those who have played at least all three formats in their career. He also suggested that, even for himself, he believes that playing in all formats has helped him develop in his career.
De Kock concluded, “When you’re a school kid, you want to be the best cricketer, not just a one-format cricketer. Obviously, seeing these days, single-format cricketers are starting to happen more often. I still think that to have a long career, you need to be able to play all three formats at some point in your career.”
Also read: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli will play all three formats for India – Big update released on Indian legends
