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Quinton de Kock announces shock retirement from Test cricket

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Last updated on 30 Dec 2021 | 05:56 PM
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Quinton de Kock announces shock retirement from Test cricket

The 29-year-old stated that he wants to spend more time with his growing family as the reason behind his decision

South Africa wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock has announced his retirement from Tests with immediate effect. The 29-year-old played in the first Test against India at Centurion, where he scored 34 and 21 as the Proteas succumbed to a 113-run loss.

De Kock intends to spend time with his growing young family, which is the reason he has cited for his retirement at such an early age.

De Kock brings curtains to his career having scored 3,300 runs at 38.82, which includes six centuries and 22 fifties from 54 Tests. His wicketkeeping skills too were of the highest level, having inflicted 232 dismissals. 

He has however confirmed that he will continue to represent South Africa in limited-overs.

“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," de Kock said in a statement.

"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.

"See you in the ODIs and T20s," he further added.

CSA acting CEO Pholetsi Moseki congratulated de Kock on an excellent Test career and looks forward to having him on board for the white-ball series going forward.

“It’s sad to lose a player of Quinton’s calibre at what we still see as the prime of his career and relatively young life, but family, as we all say here at CSA, is everything. He has been a loyal and proud servant of the Proteas team for the last seven years and we are glad that we have not lost him from the game entirely.

“We value his contribution to the team as a leader and we are grateful for the time and energy that he has given the team in years passed.

“We would like to wish him and Sasha all the best ahead of the birth of their little girl and we are excited to be gaining another member in our cricket family. We look forward to seeing Quinton at his fighting best in white-ball cricket.”

With de Kock not available for South Africa, they have to choose between Kyle Verreynne and uncapped Ryan Rickelton for the next two Tests against India, the first of which begins from January 3 at the Wanderers, Johannesburg. 

Beyond these two, the Proteas have Heinrich Klaasen, whose only Test appearance came against India in Ranchi in 2019.

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