"We have that little glimmer of hope": South Africa coach Walter on de Kock's T20I future
Jul 04, 2024
New Delhi [India], July 4 : South Africa's white-ball coach, Rob Walter, is hopeful that opening batter Quinton de Kock will continue to feature in white-ball cricket after he failed to live his dream in the recently concluded T20 World Cup.
After storming into the final unbeaten, South Africa ended up on the wrong side in the T20 World Cup final as they fell short against India.
With the southpaw on the crease and Heinrich Klaasen firing on the other end, South Africa had one hand at the trophy.
India scripted a comeback of a lifetime with pace trio, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and Hardik Pandya keeping the South African batters at bay and ending the 13-year-long wait for India to lift the ICC World Cup trophy.
Quinton retired from the Test format in 2021 and called his time in the ODI last year after their campaign in the ODI World Cup concluded.
There were speculations about his possible retirement from the shortest format of cricket, but de Kock has remained tight-lipped about his future as of now.
"Quinny's an enigma. He hasn't officially called time. So we have that little glimmer of hope that sits in the background. Quinny has very high standards for himself and has dreamed about a World Cup win for a very long time. Has had a number of knocks along the way, not least this last final, You would have seen that he was very emotional with it. Whether we see him again, time will tell," Walter said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
South Africa's next T20I assignment is against the West Indies in August this year, and de Kock is not a part of their contract list. As a result, the left-handed batter is not obliged to be available for their international games. Walter confirmed that he has not held any conversation with de Kock about his future availability for the team.
"I've had no conversations with him. It wasn't the right time after the final to have that conversation. So let me leave it at saying your guess is as good as mine," Walter added.
South Africa will play their first T20I of the three-match series on August 24 at Brian Lara Cricket Academy.
