Quinton de Kock has made it clear that he is happy playing only white-ball cricket for South Africa. The wicketkeeper batter said he has no plans to return to Test cricket and called it a straight no.
He retired from the format after the India series in 2021. He said he had lost the hunger to compete and stepping away helped him reset mentally.
Since his comeback to ODIs against Pakistan, de Kock has been in top form. He has scored 353 runs in six games at an average above 72. This includes two hundreds and two fifties.
In T20Is, he has added 121 runs in six matches. His 90 against India in New Chandigarh was a key knock in South Africa’s win.
He said the break was needed because facing the same teams again and again drained him. He mentioned that playing India home and away many times made it harder to find new goals.
He said, “I was losing hunger to win matches before I took retirement. There is a renewed energy now, and I want to win every game for my country. Before, it was not easy to wake up for the matches.”
He also said he realised how much he missed the sport after returning. “I can play for a long time,” he added.
De Kock played 54 Tests for South Africa and scored 3300 runs. He said that those days are behind him now and he is focused only on ODIs and T20Is.
He ended any hope of a return by saying, “It is a straight no when it comes to playing Test cricket.”