Quinton De Kock Wants More Family Time, Quits Test Cricket

OutlookIndia

South Africa wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock retired from Test cricket on Thursday in a shock move announced just a few hours after he played in the defeat to India in the first Test in Centurion. In a statement, the 29-year-old de Kock said he made his decision in order to have more time to spend with his family. De Kock and his wife Sasha are expecting their first child in the coming days. (Video: Cricket South Africa; Photos: Twitter, Instagram, AP, BCCI)  Follow this story and more: https://www.outlookindia.com/  #Sports #OutlookMagazine #OutlookGroup

Transcript

00:00 Kuni, you've got some news to share with us today.

00:03 Can you please share your news?

00:05 Yeah, today I've officially announced my retirement from Test cricket.

00:10 Obviously, it's not a decision I just made overnight.

00:15 I've had some time after the World Cup to think about things.

00:19 And yeah, fortunately I've decided to step down.

00:24 I've done exactly what my heart is telling me what to do.

00:27 But yeah, in saying that, I'm fully committed to the white ball format for the team.

00:34 I'll still be there with the team for a long haul.

00:39 So yeah, it's not the last that I'll be around with this team.

00:43 You said that you did put a lot of thought to it.

00:45 Obviously, there's been a few conversations as well with people that you know,

00:49 with the people that advise you best.

00:52 Yes, obviously I've spoken to a lot of people who are closest to me.

00:57 A lot of good heads that keep me, let's say, humble at the best of times.

01:04 They keep me level-headed when it comes to important decisions.

01:10 They're the people I go to and yeah, we spoke about it.

01:15 It took quite a while.

01:17 And yeah, I've come up with this final decision of obviously me stepping down from this format.

01:25 There's a lot of exciting things that are taking place in your own life.

01:29 You know, you're about to start a really exciting journey as a parent for the very first time.

01:35 Tell us about how this new milestone has affected or assisted you in making this decision.

01:42 Yeah, obviously I've got a baby on the way in the next couple of days.

01:50 You know, it's one of the factors that's part of my decision, one of the small factors.

01:58 Obviously, you know, I'm a big family guy.

02:01 I really want to be there for my kids growing up.

02:04 So yeah, it's one of the main factors.

02:08 So yeah, I'm quite excited.

02:11 I don't know how I'm going to go about it.

02:14 Obviously, it's my first time.

02:16 But yeah, I'll do what Quinny does.

02:19 Just take it as it comes.

02:22 So yeah.

02:23 Lots of nerves, but also a bit of excitement?

02:26 Yeah, to be honest, I'm not too sure.

02:29 My emotions are not quite too sure.

02:32 I don't know whether to be excited or nervous.

02:37 You know, like I said, I'm going to take it as it comes.

02:41 It's quite a big thing for me.

02:43 When I was 19, 20, I didn't think I'd ever have kids.

02:47 And at this moment, now I've got one on the way in the next couple of days.

02:51 So it's quite a big thing for me.

02:53 And yeah, like I said, I really want to be there for the baby.

02:58 As she grows up, I really want to be part of her childhood.

03:03 So yeah, quite nervous.

03:07 Also, quite a few people will make a bit of assumptions,

03:13 or a few assumptions around bubble life and things like that,

03:17 and just how much time TestCruiser takes out of your life.

03:21 Would you say that that was part of it,

03:23 or is it just one of those contributable factors, or not at all?

03:26 Yeah, like I said, there's a lot of contributing factors.

03:32 Obviously, a lot of those things I did think about.

03:38 You know, it's also just time away.

03:41 I would say at this point of the year, this year,

03:44 I think I spent a good six and a half months out of the country.

03:50 That's just out of the country, let alone the tours that we had at home.

03:55 So obviously, it's one of the things.

03:59 But I've got a lot of reasons.

04:01 But like I said, it's not something I just woke up and just made a decision of.

04:06 I really gave thought about it.

04:07 It's obviously a big decision, because it's the ultimate format of the game.

04:11 So I didn't take this decision lightly.

04:16 So it's just quite a tough one.

04:19 But like I said, I'm doing what my heart is telling me what's best.

04:24 And finally, just a word to your fans and Proteus fans

04:27 who have supported you throughout your Test career.

04:30 Yeah, obviously, it's been amazing.

04:32 I mean, the support that I've had through my ups and most importantly through my downs.

04:39 You know, it's something that no professional sportsman can just buy is the support of fans.

04:44 They've been absolutely amazing.

04:47 You know, it's been awesome when you walk down the stairs here at a couple of stadiums in South Africa

04:52 and you've got the fans cheering you on.

04:54 It's absolutely amazing.

04:56 But in saying that, I'm only done with Test cricket.

05:00 I'm not done with the Wild Pool format, so I'll still be around for a long time.

05:04 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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