When Quinton de Kock returned to South Africa’s limited-overs squads for the Pakistan tour, head coach Shukri Conrad had termed the wicketkeeper-batter as an “enigma”.
The 32-year-old had retired from ODIs after the 2023 World Cup and hadn’t played a T20I since the last World Cup.
“Quinny was an enigma, and is still an enigma,” Conrad had said.
His performance in the ODI and the current T20I series has provided South Africa fresh hope ahead of the showpiece event in February-March.
“I think prior to my retirement, I was losing my hunger to win games for this team, specifically for the Proteas. And that time away just brought back my hunger,” De Kock said after his match-winning 90 off 57 balls in Mullanpur on Thursday.
“I was telling the guys that I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way. Whereas before, when you’re young, you’re trying to just play to score runs and impress. Be part of a team where I feel now that there’s a renewed energy where I’m not just playing, I’m playing to win every game with a renewed energy. Where before, it would be hard to wake up and go play for the team again, especially when you play a series over and over, where you’ve played India multiple times, home and away.
“I think over time, I was getting sick of it because I was looking for a new challenge and I wasn’t getting it. Now coming back, I feel like this is actually what I missed. As everyone knows, you never know what you have until you’ve lost it. So that’s kind of now coming back, where that renewed energy where I feel I can play much longer than what I thought previously,” he said.
De Kock said the break was much-needed when it came.
“I think it was just time away from the international stage. It wasn’t a decision that I just woke up and had,” he said. “I think over time, the longer break I had, the more I felt ready to come back. I had already played international cricket for more than a
decade. That was pretty much it. I think when I left, I was quite exhausted from international cricket.
“So my break, I still feel, was much needed. Now when I came back, I’ve got a lot of energy that I can put back towards the team. And I’ve always said it to coach Shooks (Shukri Conrad), I want to play as long as I can now. I don’t think I could have had that mindset if I carried on playing (without the break).
“I think I actually would have finished my career earlier. Now with my break, I feel I can prolong my career. I feel fitter than ever. And mentally also, I’m not exhausted. So I feel like I’m happy to be back and I can give more back to the team,” he added.
De Kock admitted he was annoyed with how ‘sloppy’ he was in the opening fixture.
“I was just trying to get myself into a better position. I think initially I was quite irritated, disappointed with myself. The previous game, the way I got out was very sloppy.
“I knew if I stood a chance to score runs, just need to look after that in the first couple of balls, especially to a guy like Arshdeep and Bumrah, you have to be strong in your positions or otherwise they are going to find you out. You can’t be loose.”
His knock will also help the South African ahead of the IPL mini auction on December 16 in Abu Dhabi. He had been released by KKR and the franchise needs a wicketkeeper for the ensuing season.
He had not figured in the original list, but his name was added later at the recommendation of a franchise. Given his form in the current series, he is sure to attract good valuation from the franchises.
Mumbai Indians, whose South African wicketkeeper-opener Ryan Rickelton is not even in this squad, and Delhi Capitals may also consider De Kock for next season.
