Quinton de Kock shocks cricket fraternity with sudden retirement from Tests
South Africa’s wicket-keeper-batsman Quinton de Kock shocked the cricket fraternity with a sudden retirement from Test cricket. The 29-year-old played his last Test against Team India in the first Test of the ongoing three-match Test series at SuperSport Park in Centurion.
The southpaw didn’t bid adieu to his Test career on a high as Proteas surrendered at the hands of India in the first Test. India scripted history by breaching South Africa’s fortress for the first time in Test cricket as they won the game by a massive margin of 113 runs.
Meanwhile, Quinton de Kock scored 34 in the first innings and 21 in the second innings. Later on, he announced his decision to retire from the longest format of the game. Cricket South Africa (CSA) confirmed the development on their Twitter handle.
The left-handed wicket-keeper-batsman represented South Africa in 54 Tests. He accumulated 3,300 runs at a batting average of 38.82 along with six centuries and 22 fifties. He took 221 catches, affected 11 stumpings followed by a run-out in Tests.
“#Proteas wicket-keeper batsman, Quinton de Kock has announced his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect, citing his intentions to spend more time with his growing family,” wrote Cricket South Africa on their official Twitter handle.
Quinton de Kock retires from Test cricket
Furthermore, he stressed the fact that his intention is to spend more time with his family. At the same time, he added that retiring from Tests isn’t the decision that he came to that easily. “This is not a decision that I have come to very easily,” the release quoted De Kock as saying.
“I have taken a lot of time to think about what my future looks like and what needs to take priority in my life now that Sasha and I are about to welcome our first child into this world and look to grow our family beyond that. My family is everything to me and I want to have the time and space to be able to be with them during this new and exciting chapter of our lives.
“I love Test cricket and I love representing my country and all that it comes with. I’ve enjoyed the ups and the downs, the celebrations and even the disappointments, but now I’ve found something that I love even more. In life, you can buy almost everything except for time, and right now, it’s time to do right by the people that mean the most to me.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been a part of my Test cricket journey from the very beginning. To my coaches, teammates, the various management teams and my family and friends – I couldn’t have shown up as I did without your support.
“This is not the end of my career as a Protea, I’m fully committed to white-ball cricket and representing my country to the best of my ability for the foreseeable future,” he added.
