Photo Credit: ESPN Cricinfo
South Africa‘s white-ball coach, Rob Walter, expressed uncertainty regarding Quinton de Kock‘s future with the T20I team after the player was left out of the squad for the second consecutive series following the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Although De Kock is no longer on a national contract and hasn’t fully retired from international cricket, he missed South Africa’s recent T20 series against the West Indies and will also be absent from the upcoming two-match series against Ireland.
South Africa will play four home T20Is against India in November as part of their preparations for the 2026 T20 World Cup. When questioned about Quinton de Kock’s availability, white-ball coach Rob Walter indicated that a decision on his involvement is unlikely to be made soon.
“I don’t know, to be dead honest. For the next little while, there will be no conversations between myself and Quinny as to whether he wants to play for South Africa again. I’ve left the door open for him to approach me if and when he wants to do that. That might never happen,” Walter said at a press conference.
Quinton de Kock retired from Test cricket in 2021 and stepped away from ODIs after the 2023 World Cup. White-ball coach Rob Walter initially revealed that De Kock had intended to retire from all international formats but was persuaded to continue through the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Walter noted that while they may have a conversation about De Kock’s future, it wouldn’t necessarily lead to his return to the team. The coach emphasized that any discussion with De Kock would be focused on performance.
“There might be a conversation and also that conversation does initially mean it will lead to him being selected. We have to just allow him to have his space, to play league cricket and to do what he needs to do. What will become more and more important is performance. He’s not exactly old [de Kock is 31] so from here on in, it’s a performance-based conversation,” he added.
South Africa has announced their squads for the white-ball series against Afghanistan and Ireland. They will first play three ODIs and two T20Is against Afghanistan, starting September 18, followed by three T20Is against Ireland.
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