Proteas batsman Quinton de Kock plays a shot during the T20 World Cup Super Eight match against England at Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, in Saint Lucia in June. (Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
- While the white-ball cricket squads named for the series against Afghanistan and Ireland look aimed at developing depth, wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock’s omission was still notable.
- Having last played for the Proteas in the T20 World Cup final in June, De Kock hasn’t retired from the format, like he did from Test and ODI cricket, but is no longer contracted CSA.
- SA white-ball coach Rob Walter admitted to having no clue if De Kock would play for his country again.
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Proteas wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock’s continued availability – or lack thereof – for his country in the shortest format of the game remains open-ended.
Having retired from Test cricket and One Day International cricket in installments (2021 and 2023, respectively) to spend more time with his family by only playing in T20 leagues around the world, De Kock had stayed on in the T20 international team.
His last match for his country was the World Cup final in which the Proteas were pipped by India in June.
Subsequent to that outing, the 31-year-old is no longer contracted by Cricket South Africa (CSA), which has raised questions about whether he may still play for the Proteas, especially seeing that he has been omitted from the T20I squad to play Ireland in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 27 and 29 September.
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Asked if there was clarity on a potential Proteas future for De Kock and whether he would want to be considered, Proteas white-ball coach Rob Walter admitted to being in the dark.
“I don’t know, to be dead honest,” began Walter.
“For the next little while, there’ll be no conversations between me 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 and there might be a conversation, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll lead to him being selected. We have to allow him to have his space; he played for South Africa for a very long time and in a lot of World Cup events.
“So, for now, we just need to allow him to have his space to work through that and play league cricket and to do what he needs to do. And, as I’ve said, if that road leads him back to playing for South Africa, then everyone benefits.”
Walter said there was no deadline in place for when De Kock would have to signal his intent to come back into the fold.
“In the meantime, we just have opportunities for guys like Kyle Verreynne, Ryan Rickelton and Heinrich Klaasen as our men who can take the gloves and bat as well.
“What will become more and more important is performance. He’s not exactly old, so from here on in it’s a performance-based conversation.”
Before embarking on his current hiatus, De Kock had played nine matches at the T20 World Cup – which was jointly hosted by the United States and the West Indies – scoring 243 runs at a strike rate of 140, with a top score of 74.