Johannesburg: South Africa wicket-keeper batter Quinton de Kock has announced his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect.
The announcement comes after South Africa lost the first Test against India by 113 runs at Centurion.
The 29-year-old has cited his intentions to spend more time with his growing family as the reason for his early retirement from the format.
De Kock and his wife Sasha are "anticipating the imminent birth of their first-born child in the coming days".
“This is not a decision that I have come to very easily. I have taken a lot of time to think about what my future looks like and what needs to take priority in my life now that Sasha and I are about to welcome our first child into this world and look to grow our family beyond that," De Kock said in a statement.
"My family is everything to me and I want to have the time and space to be able to be with them during this new and exciting chapter of our lives.
"I love Test cricket and I love representing my country and all that it comes with. I’ve enjoyed the ups and the downs, the celebrations and even the disappointments, but now I’ve found something that I love even more.
"In life, you can buy almost everything except for time, and right now, it’s time to do right by the people that mean the most to me.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been a part of my Test cricket journey from the very beginning. To my coaches, teammates, the various management teams and my family and friends – I couldn’t have shown up as I did without your support.
"This is not the end of my career as a Protea, I’m fully committed to white ball cricket and representing my country to the best of my ability for the foreseeable future.
"All the best to my teammates for the remainder of this Test series against India. See you in the ODIs and T20s," he added.
De Kock made his Test debut against Australia in 2014. In 54 matches, he scored 3300 runs with a high score of 141 not out, at an average of 38.82 and strike rate of 70.93. He also has six centuries and 22 half-centuries under his belt.
As a wicket-keeper, De Kock effected 232 dismissals, including 221 catches and 11 stumpings. He also took the third-most catches in the inaugural ICC World Test Championship – 48 in 11 matches (47 catches and 1 stumping) and has a personal best of six dismissals in an innings, against England in Centurion in 2019.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) Acting CEO, Pholetsi Moseki congratulated De Kock on an exemplary career.
"It’s sad to lose a player of Quinton’s calibre at what we still see as the prime of his career and relatively young life, but family, as we all say here at CSA, is everything. He has been a loyal and proud servant of the Proteas team for the last seven years and we are glad that we have not lost him from the game entirely," Moseki said.
"We value his contribution to the team as a leader and we are grateful for the time and energy that he has given the team in years passed.
"We would like to wish him and Sasha all the best ahead of the birth of their little girl and we are excited to be gaining another member in our cricket family. We look forward to seeing Quinton at his fighting best in white ball cricket," Moseki added.
The sudden announcement by Quinton de Kock to retire from the longest format of the game has shocked cricket fans. Have a look at some of the reactions following the announcement:
