In a shocking move right after the completion of the first Test of the series against India, wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock has announced retirement from Test cricket. He has announced his departure from the format with immediate effect but said that to reach the decision took him a lot of time.
However, he maintained that his international career for South Africa is not over and reiterated his commitment to play the other two formats of the game.
He was all set to miss the remainder of the Test series against India but he has chosen to walk a completely different with the purpose of spending more time, which he said is the most precious thing in his life, with his young family.
“This is not a decision that I have come to very easily. 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.”
“All the best to my teammates for the remainder of this Test series against India.”
He made good start to his innings in the first innings of the Centurion Test before getting out while in the seocnd innings he struggled throughout to time the ball before playing on his stumps for 21.