IND vs SA: "Just brought back my hunger" - Quinton de Kock breaks silence on his decision to reverse retirement

Quinton de Kock said the time away from the game brought back his hunger to win matches for South Africa.

South Africa Cricket Team wicket-keeper batter Quinton de Kock has broken silence on his decision to reverse his retirement, saying that he is now looking forward to winning games for the team with renewed energy. The left-handed batter also added that the time away from the game brought back his hunger to win games for his country.

The Proteas opener had announced to retire from ODI cricket in September 2023 after playing in ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. He also didn’t feature in a T20I game after the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. However, he reversed his ODI retirement in September 2025 and recently featured in the three-match series against India. He also hammered a century in the third ODI in a losing cause.

Prior to the India tour, he featured in the ODI series against Pakistan last month, making a comeback to the 50-over format. On Thursday, December 11, the 32-year-old smacked a wonderful 90-run knock to propel Proteas to victory in the second T20I against India in New Chandigarh. Hitting 90 runs off 46 deliveries with five fours and seven sixes, he drove the team’s total to a big total of 213/4.

Later, the Aiden Markram & Co. crushed India by 51 runs, bowling them out for just 162 runs. De Kock was awarded Player of the Match for his marvellous batting show. Getting out for a duck in the opening game, he made a brilliant comeback in the second clash.

I was losing my hunger to win games for this team: Quinton de Kock

In an interview with PTI, de Kock shed lights on his decision to reverse his retirement from ODI cricket. He said that he was losing his hunger to win games for the team prior to his retirement, but now has a renewed energy to win every match.

“I think prior to my retirement, I was losing my hunger to win games for this team. That time away just brought back my hunger. I was telling the guys, I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way. Before when you’re young, you’re trying to just play to score runs and impress. I feel now that there’s a renewed energy where I’m not just playing. I’m playing to win every game with a renewed energy,” he stated.

“Before, it would be hard to wake up and go play for the team again. Especially when you play a series over and over where you’ve played India multiple times, home and away. Over time, I was getting sick of it. I was looking for a new challenge and I wasn’t getting it,” he added.

The wicket-keeper batter also added that he now realises what he missed after making a comeback to the national team.

“Now coming back, I feel like this is actually what I missed. Everyone knows, you never know what you have until you’ve lost it. Now coming back, there’s a renewed energy where I feel I can play much longer than what I thought previously,” De Kock further said.

Meanwhile, the South Africa stalwart had announced his retirement from test cricket in December 2021. With his heroics in the second T20I, the visitors have levelled the five-match series 1-1. The next clash will be played on December 14 in Dharamsala.

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