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South Africa wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock opened up on why he decided to make a U-turn from his ODI retirement after playing a sublime knock of 90 runs against India in the second T20I. Notably, de Kock had announced his retirement from the one-day format after the 2023 World Cup and had decided to take an indefinite break from T20Is after the Proteas' defeat to India in the 2024 T20 World Cup final.
De Kock's superb return to ODIs
While de Kock did make a return to the shortest format later that year in October, his ODI return came just last month during South Africa's three-match ODI series against Pakistan. The 32-year-old proved to be brilliant in the assignment against the Men in Green, scoring a century and two fifties in three games. He then maintained that form against India and played a sensational knock of 106 in Visakhapatnam.
De Kock remarked that he regained the hunger to win matches during the time that he spent away from the sport. He also said that he had lost the motivation to play after featuring in a lot of international matches each year.
"I think prior to my retirement, I was losing my hunger to win games for this team. That time away just brought back my hunger. I was telling the guys, I don't think I've ever felt this way. "Before when you're young, you're trying to just play to score runs and impress. 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," de Kock said.
"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. Over time, I was getting sick of it. 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. Everyone knows, you never know what you have until you've lost it. Now coming back, there's a renewed energy where I feel I can play much longer than what I thought previously," he added.
De Kock stars in South Africa's win
Meanwhile, de Kock's explosive inning of 90 against India in the second T20I helped the Proteas in posting a mammoth total of 213/4 on the board. In reply, pacer Ottneil Baartman proved to be the star performer and racked up four wickets as the Men in Blue got bundled out for 162 and lost the match by a 51-run margin. With the series now level at 1-1, it remains to be seen as to which of the two teams will go on to take the valuable lead by winning the third T20I that will be held in Dharamsala on December 14.
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