What drives Quinton de Kock, from the Indian Premier League to ODI World Cup?

Quinton de Kock (left) with Lucknow Super Giants teammates KL Rahul and Krunal Pandya. De Kock with clarity of purpose is a very dangerous man, as is obvious in the ongoing ODI World Cup. (Photo via X/Krunal Pandya)

It had become a tradition of sorts for us during the annual Indian Premier League (IPL) jamboree. Each year as the Delhi Daredevils squad readied themselves to travel to Kolkata, a senior journalist from the City of Joy would reach out with a request. Every year the request would be for a one-on-one player interaction. The journalist would make it a point to reach out much in advance. The routine was that he would wait for the squad at the hotel lobby. Then immediately after the squad had reached, he would move into a conference room or any quiet place available in the hotel lobby to chat with the concerned player.

Back in 2017 as the squad was preparing to reach Kolkata, the journalist reached out to interview a young South African star at the time. He went by the name of Quinton de Kock. He was truly one for the IPL generation because his game suited the shorter formats very well. He was also the undeniable link between the old golden generation of Graeme Smith, AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn, and the much newer generation slowly making their way through the system.

So, it was inevitable that de Kock would be a much sought after player when Delhi reached Kolkata for a game against the home team in the 2017 season of IPL. Now the thing with de Kock is that he is quite an easy-going person off the field. Nothing, absolutely nothing fazes him off the field and by the looks of it in the ongoing ODI World Cup, on the field too!

Quinton de Kock knows that he is not going to be playing ODI cricket post the World Cup. He announced his retirement from the 50 over format before the mega event, and that seems to have helped him bat with clarity.

So when de Kock and the Delhi squad reached the hotel in Kolkata back in 2017, the veteran journalist was ready to interview the young wicket-keeper batter. De Kock was as nonchalant as ever as the senior journalist introduced himself in the hotel lobby. The interview started at the appointed quiet place, de Kock was happily answering the questions.

Midway through the interview, the journalist’s dictaphone, a print writer’s most reliable ally, started playing tricks and then stopped working. The journalist was sweating and worrying about the interview. He tried every other trick, like looking for a phone with a recorder, but nothing helped.

All this while de Kock was sitting in a corner of the board room quiet, without a fuss and any kind of starry tantrum. He just waited till the journalist got his house in order. Finally, after trying a lot the journalist gave up and asked de Kock if he would be okay if the interview would not be recorded. “I promise you that I will not misquote you at all,” assured the veteran journalist. De Kock just shrugged his shoulders and said: “I don’t read anything anyways, so it is okay”. This one line from de Kock summed up the man and his personality. The interview did take place with the journalist taking notes all through the 30-minute-long chat.

A few days later, the journalist, as was his style, handed a copy of the newspaper where the interview appeared. “It is for Quinton,” he said. When the copy was handed to de Kock, he just took it in his stride and carried on listening to his music en route to the Kolkata airport. This was the case every time de Kock was either interviewed by either the host broadcaster or any journalist during the IPL. This continues till date, as he switches off the moment he is finished playing for the day.

Every time you reach out to de Kock post a game; he is back in his room sleeping. He just looked at the sport as just a part of his life. He is not arrogant or aloof or an introvert, he is just himself, de Kock. He could hold his own in a group of boys but he is not the life of a party or a gathering.

De Kock was the best performer amongst the younger lot of South Africans and as the golden generation began exiting the stage, there was a leadership vacuum. The South African board plumped for de Kock as national captain hoping that his time with the golden boys would help bridge the gap.

De Kock was only too happy to take up the role for the side. He even led a side to India. But he lost everything under his command back in 2019-20. Very soon he realized this leadership role was not for him. He just could not get going as a leader because essentially, he was not a people’s person. He was the quiet type who was only too happy to move away from the spotlight. Unlike, say, a Virat Kohli who liked to be the cynosure of all eyes or a Mahendra Singh Dhoni who had the magnetic personality to absorb all the attention.

It was clear that those months of leadership affected de Kock a lot. It took some time for him to recover from the responsibility. Once he stood down and was back in the ranks, he was back in his element.

During the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2021, though, we did see a rare glimpse of a rebellious de Kock. He stayed away from a game because he did not want to take a knee against racism, as per the order of Cricket South Africa (CSA) because he felt such things should not be enforced. He did return but things were not the same. Then during the 2021-22 Test series against India, he shocked the world of cricket by retiring from the format at the age of 29.

He just wanted to play the shorter formats for South Africa and wanted to take his place in franchise leagues around the globe. This did help him a lot as he appears a lot freer than before and is not burdened by the pressures of international cricket. De Kock with clarity of purpose is a very dangerous man, as is obvious in the ongoing World Cup.

What has also helped is that de Kock now also knows that he is not going to be playing ODI cricket post the World Cup. He announced his retirement from the 50-over format before the mega event, and that seems to have helped him bat with clarity.

He is destroying bowlers for fun in the ongoing tournament and for the first time in a long while, he appears relaxed as he was back in 2017. He probably knows that he is now part of a new golden generation of South Africa where there are several power hitters ready to take his place.

Bowlers throughout the tournament appear to be defeated when de Kock sets his mind on the job. Hence as India take on South Africa at the Eden Gardens on Sunday, all eyes will be on de Kock and his battle with Jasprit Bumrah and Co. He has played alongside each one of them during the IPL and knows their strengths. The same holds true for Indian bowlers as well. They have borne the brunt of a de Kock assault in the past and know a way to silence him.

He may have scored four centuries already in the tournament, but nothing will faze de Kock unlike most others. He will still carry on the same way as he does when he is not scoring centuries. The same old routine will be followed. He truly follows the motto of sleep, eat, play, and repeat. A perfect ambassador to embody the spirit of Que Será, Será.