By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@GalloImages.
Proteas wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock has announced his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect.
The announcement came hours after India beat Proteas by 113 runs in the opening Test of the three-match series in Centurion on Thursday.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) released a statement by De Kock on Thursday conveying his decision to retire from Tests. “This is not a decision that I have come to very easily.”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. 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,” De Kock stated.
“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,he concluded.
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,” said Moseki.
“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.
“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.”
De Kock made headlines during the T20 World Cup in the UAE when he defied a CSA order to observe the anti-racism kneeling stance before Proteas matches.