South Africa are hopeful Quinton de Kock will remain available to play white-ball international cricket and realise his dream of winning a World Cup, as they are yet to receive news of his T20I retirement. De Kock called time on Tests in 2021 and ended his 50-over career at last year’s ODI World Cup. The T20 World Cup in West Indies and USA was expected to be his last T20I outing but national white-ball coach Rob Walter hopes there may be more to come from de Kock.
“Quinny’s an enigma. He hasn’t officially called time. So we have that little glimmer of hope that sits in the background,” Walter said on arrival in South Africa on Thursday. “Quinny has very high standards for himself and has dreamed about a World Cup win for a very long time. Has had a number of knocks along the way, not least this last final, You would have seen that he was very emotional with it. Whether we see him again, time will tell.”
Walter has not yet brought up the topic with de Kock and probably won’t have to for a while. De Kock is not on South Africa’s national contract list and is therefore not required to be available for those or any other international games; nevertheless, this will not affect his selection in the future. South Africa’s next Twenty20 internationals are scheduled for August in the West Indies.
National availability is no longer a non-negotiable ahead of major competitions, as demonstrated by de Kock’s selection for this World Cup despite missing the last series against India in December due to his attendance at the BBL. That implies that if de Kock stays involved in league play, he could still be considered for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
“I’ve had no conversations with him. It wasn’t the right time after the final to have that conversation,” Walter said. “So let me leave it at saying your guess is as good as mine.”
Fortunately for Walter, there’s no need to speculate about David Miller’s future as he is the other likely retiree. In an Instagram story, Miller stated, “Contrary to reports, I have not retired from T20 international cricket. I am available for South Africa.” I’ll be accessible for the Proteas going forward. The greatest is still to come.
Miller’s post implies that he will carry on playing one-day internationals (ODIs), which is significant because it’s still unclear if de Kock would contemplate doing an ODI U-turn in order to play in the 2027 home World Cup. If so, he might be taken into consideration for the Champions Trophy the following year, which is essential to starting long-term plans for the upcoming ODI World Cup and offers South Africa another chance to win a trophy they have been chasing for a very long time. It is worth noting that South Africa has only won one ICC senior cup, which was in 1998.
“I think people underestimate the toughness of the Champions Trophy. For me, that’s as strong a competition as any,” Walter said. “Hopefully we continue to grow as a side and just keep putting ourselves in a position where we can compete. I said last year after the 50-over World Cup, I genuinely believed that semi-final would be the catalyst to us winning our first world trophy. And nothing’s changed. We probably believe that even stronger now.”