Quinton de Kock's Test retirement came as a shock but we respect his reasons: Mark Boucher

South Africa and India are up against each other in a three-match Test series and after losing the opening Test, Proteas were in for another shock. Quinton de Kock announced his Test retirement abruptly and cited personal reasons for the same and the development has certainly put the host nation on backfoot.

SA head coach Mark Boucher also recently opened on this and added that they respect their decision completely. He added that no one expected the wicketkeeping-batter to retire so soon but they need to focus on the upcoming Test for now. Boucher lauded De Kock for having a brilliant career in the longest format of the game.

“You do not expect anyone of his caliber to retire at that age. It came as a shock. But we fully respect his reasons. It’s sad, but we’ll have to keep going. We’re in the middle of a series and we cannot wonder about it for too long. We need to focus on the guys who come in his place and hopefully, they can do something similar to what Quinny offered us. He had a fantastic Test career,” said Boucher while speaking to news24.com.

Kyle Verreynne waited his turn and honed his game: Mark Boucher

Kyle Verreyne, the 24-year-old wicketkeeper-batter is highly expected to replace the veteran and the head coach is backing him to do well with the national team. Talking of Verreynne, Boucher added that the system is not very new for him and that they are working with him closely.

“He (Verreynne) waited his turn and honed his game. We have been working closely with him lately. It’s not that he is new to the system. He’s been around the guys for a while. So, he will quietly have confidence in his game and he will be able to move in seamlessly,” Boucher added.

Talking of the Test series, India has already won the opening game and has taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The 2^nd Test is all set to be played on January 03, 2022, in Johannesburg.