Flamboyant Quinton de Kock set for ODI sunset in India

Prolific batter Quinton de Kock has announced his retirement from ODI cricket after the upcoming 50-over cricket World Cup, which is slated to begin on October 5 in India. He retired from Test cricket in 2022 and, hence, will play only the T20 format going forward. The stumper-batter mentioned that he has already played a lot of cricket and wants to get engaged in other activities like fishing and playing golf, among a few others.

Speaking about his World Cup preparations, the 30-year-old stated that he is ready to give it all to tick off an ICC event. He also clarified that after he retires, he is not going to look back at anything as he wants a life post-cricket.

“I'll give the World Cup my best shot. I would like to tick off an ICC event. I don't see myself being involved in the game in any way when I stop playing. I want a life after cricket,” de Kock was quoted as saying by Daily Mirror. 

Meanwhile, the role of the analyst has become extremely popular in recent times. The designated person studies the weakness of the opposition players and shows videos to the cricketers and also plays a key role in forming strategies. However, de Kock believes in old-school cricket and mentioned that he is not interested in all these things and likes to play what’s in front of him rather than planning everything beforehand.

“Basically I play what's in front of me. You can look at videos, but it's not the same as being in the middle,” the cricketer mentioned.

South Africa will reach India on Tuesday, September 26 and play a couple of warm-up games against Afghanistan and New Zealand before playing their first match of the ODI World Cup on October 7 against Sri Lanka at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Meanwhile, ahead of that, the Proteas have suffered a double blow as Anrich Nortje and Sisanda Magala have been ruled out of the tournament.