Quinton de Kock of South Africa is dismissed during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 match between South Africa and New Zealand at MCA International Stadium on 1 November 2023 in Pune, India. (Photo: Pankaj Nangia / Gallo Images / Getty Images) 
After a yearlong absence from international cricket, wicketkeeper, batter and former captain of the national side Quinton de Kock has returned to the Proteas setup.
De Kock was selected as part of South Africa’s T20 and 50-over sides to take on Pakistan as part of their all-format tour to the subcontinent next month. De Kock never officially retired from T20 cricket, but called time on his 50-over career after the 2023 Cricket World Cup and played the last of his 54 Test matches at the end of 2021.
The avid fisherman from Johannesburg has decided to hang his rod up for a while and step back into international cricket, having plied his trade with his cricket willow in franchise cricket across the past few years.
This year alone, De Kock has played in The Hundred (England), Caribbean Premier League (West Indies), SA20 (South Africa), Indian Premier League (India), as well as Major League Cricket (America).
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/1671149188.jpg "Quinton de Kock of South Africa bats during the 5th Betway One Day International match between South Africa and Australia at DP World Wanderers Stadium on 17 September 2023 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Lee Warren / Gallo Images / Getty Images)")
But with all-format coach Shukri Conrad’s policy of only selecting players for major tournaments if they’re available for selection for bilateral series, De Kock will have to put a few of those leagues on the back burner.
It’s not a request Conrad made to De Kock, instead the swashbuckling opening batter picked up his phone and dialled the coach one evening last month while South Africa were on tour in Australia.
“When we got to Darwin [in Australia], I just put my head to the pillow at about two in the morning when my phone rang, and it was Quinny,” Conrad explained in a press conference on Monday.
“I chatted for a bit, and I said I’d come back to him in a couple of days, and chatted to a few people, and the rest is history.
“It’s great to have him back on board.”
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2219347881-1.jpg "Proteas head coach Shukri Conrad has selected his white-ball squads, with an eye on the upcoming World Cups. (Photo: Philip Brown / Getty Images)")
No guarantees
While that phone call ensured that 32-year-old De Kock, who has represented South Africa 301 times across formats, is back in the Proteas setup, his spot in the squad for the T20 World Cup next year is not a certainty.
“There’s by no means any guarantees with regards to World Cups or anything,” Conrad explained.
“We have a great opportunity to get him playing in this Pakistan series, and then we’ll see how this goes and then if everything adds up, form, fitness, then he obviously stakes a massive claim to be included in the T20 World Cup to start off with.
“But there’s still a bit of water to flow under this bridge. I just think it’s a start. We’re getting him playing, and he’s out representing South Africa, the Proteas, and it’s a great opportunity in Pakistan.
“That’s the first step, and we’ll take it from there. We’ll see how it all unfolds.”
De Kock’s final match for the national team was the final of the T20 World Cup last year, which South Africa lost by seven runs to India in Bridgetown in the Caribbean.
According to Conrad, that’s not where the former captain wants to end his international chapter with the Proteas.
“He said, ‘Look, I still think I’ve got a lot to offer. I miss playing for South Africa. I want to play for the Proteas. I think I can make a difference’.
“He’s on board full on, there’s no ‘I’m only available for a World Cup and I’m only this’. There are actually no strings attached.
“It’s great when someone of his calibre expresses that and we all know what a talisman he is. He wants to play for South Africa. Who am I to stop him?”
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-1347683857.jpg "South Africa captain Temba Bavuma takes the knee as teammate Quinton de Kock looks on ahead of the Pakistan and South Africa warm-up match before the T20 World Cup in Abu Dhabi on 20 October 2021. (Photo: Gareth Copley-ICC / ICC via Getty Images)")
Guiding youngsters
De Kock made his international debut as a 19-year-old in 2012.
Another young wicketkeeper/batter of the same age is coming through the ranks right now in Lhuan-dre Pretorius, someone Conrad believes that De Kock can take under his wing.
Dewald Brevis, a young maverick batter like De Kock was when he entered the scene is another.
“Quinny was an enigma and he’s still an enigma,” Conrad said.
“He debuted very young so he experienced a lot of what the Brevises and the Lhuan-dres have experienced.
“I think he’ll be a great sounding board for them. He’s one of the easiest guys to get along with.
“He’s really just a matter-of-fact kind of guy. He wants to give up his best for South Africa. He knows his way around the international scene.
“He’s toured Pakistan before, which is always a tough place to go and tour. He’ll be a great sounding board for these younger players.”
Outside of Corbin Bosch and Brevis, South Africa’s all-format players were rested from the white-ball series against Pakistan. Test and ODI skipper Temba Bavuma’s calf strain he picked up in England has also not healed in time as he misses the entire tour to the subcontinent.
That means there are wholesale changes to the leadership positions. Aiden Markram will lead the Test side in Bavuma’s absence, Matthew Breetzke will lead the ODI side in Bavuma, and Markram’s absence and David Miller will lead the T20 side.
The day before the start of South Africa’s first Test match (which starts on 12 October), the national side will take on Namibia in a once-off T20 in Namibia. Big-hitting Donovan Ferreira will take the captaincy reins in the T20I against Namibia on 11 October in Windhoek. DM