Desk Report:
Quinton de Kock retired from ODIs after the 2023 World Cup. However, after almost two years of retirement, the star wicketkeeper-batter is returning to this version. South Africa has announced the team for the Pakistan series with him.
Pakistan will play a full series against South Africa at home after the Asia Cup. The two teams will play two Tests and three ODIs and T20Is each. De Kock has also returned to the Twenty20 series during the Pakistan tour. The former captain last played in this version in June last year.
De Kock retired from ODIs and Tests mainly to prioritize the franchise tournament. He was also out of the T20 team for the same reason. There were rumors that he would also say goodbye to the shortened version. However, this time, de Kock dispelled all the rumors by returning to the T20 team.
South Africa coach Shukri Conrad said about the retirement of ODI batsman de Kock and his return to the T20 team, “Quinton’s return to the white ball field is a big boost for us. When we talked about his future last month, it was clear that he still has a strong desire to represent the country. Everyone knows what his role is. Having him back will benefit the team.”
De Kock has played 155 ODIs for South Africa so far. He has scored 6,770 runs with the bat. He has hit 21 centuries and 30 fifties. His batting average is 45.74. His strike rate is 96.64. His highest innings is 178 runs.
South Africa will start the Pakistan series with a Test. The first Test will be played on October 12. The second match in white clothes will start on October 20. The T20 matches will be on October 28 and 31 and November 1. The three ODI matches will be on November 4, 6 and 8.
