South Africa is uncertain about Quinton de Kock‘s T20I future after he was left out of the upcoming two-match series against Ireland in the UAE. The experienced wicketkeeper-batter last played for the Proteas in the 2024 T20 World Cup final against India in Barbados.
Quinton de Kock retired from Tests and ODIs in 2021 and 2023, respectively, and is not on Cricket South Africa’s list of centrally contracted players. He missed the three-match T20I series against the West Indies following the World Cup.
Instead, he played for the Seattle Orcas in the 2024 Major League Cricket season and is currently with the Barbados Royals in the 2024 Caribbean Premier League (CPL), where he recently scored an unbeaten 87 to secure a win against the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons.
With de Kock absent from the squad once more, white-ball coach Rob Walter gave a pessimistic view on the player’s future with the team as they prepare for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
“I don’t know, to be dead honest. For the next little while, there will be no conversations between myself and Quinny as to whether he wants to play for South Africa again. I’ve left the door open for him to approach me if and when he wants to do that. That might never happen,” Walter said in a press conference.
“We have to just allow him to have his space, to play league cricket and to do what he needs to do. What will become more and more important is performance. He’s not exactly old [de Kock is 31] so from here on in, it’s a performance-based conversation,” he added.
It is uncertain if de Kock will be available for the home series against India, which includes four T20Is scheduled for the end of the year.
South Africa has various alternatives available in Quinton de Kock’s absence
In the recent T20I series against the West Indies, the Proteas utilized Ryan Rickelton and Reeza Hendricks as openers. This pairing is expected to continue for the Ireland series, especially since Rickelton can also keep wickets.
For wicketkeeping roles, South Africa has alternatives like Kyle Verreynne and Heinrich Klaasen. However, Klaasen has been excluded from the upcoming tour due to personal reasons. He also withdrew from the 2024 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with the St. Lucia Kings, prompting the team to sign New Zealand’s Tim Seifert as his replacement.
“He has some family matters that he is dealing with currently. As soon as that position has changed, he’ll obviously fall back into playing again,” Walter said of Klaasen.
South Africa’s T20I series against Ireland is set to start on September 27 in Abu Dhabi.
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