Birthday special: Quinton de Kock – An all-format specialist

Ace wicket keeping-batsman Quinton de Kock is the newly minted skipper of the South African national cricket team across all the formats. Plying his trade for Titans in the domestic circuit and Proteas team at the international level, De Kock has shaped himself as one of the best wicket-keeping batsmen of South Africa. He was named as the Cricketer of the Year during their 2017 Annual Awards.

Making his mark

He marked his international debut during the opening match of South Africa’s home T20I series against the Black Caps in the 2012-13 season. His wicket-keeping skills also came into light during that match as AB de Villiers was rested. Since then, he has become a regular and significant feature of the South African cricket team. He flagged off his journey in the purest form of the game in 2014, where he pitched in as a batsman solely.

When he came to don the South African outfit in his 20th ODI, he already had five centuries in his bag. He became the fourth player to hit three straight tons and the second player to smash four tons before his 21st birthday. It was during his 74th ODI, where De Kock unlocked another milestone of his career. Back in February 2017, he became the fastest player to complete 12 ODI centuries and surpassed Hashim Amla’s record, who achieved it in 81 innings.

Quinton de Kock’s golden form in IPL 2020

Quantity of runs ?
Quality knocks ?
Quinton de Kock ?#HappyBirthdayQuinny ?#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians @QuinnyDeKock69 pic.twitter.com/MTvQyGhzw1

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) December 17, 2020

The South African cricketer is known for opening the innings in ODIs and T20 leagues, but he primarily plays as a middle-order batsman in the longest format of the game. He has been an active part of the Indian Premier League and has been with SRH, DD, Rajasthan, RCB, and Mumbai. In fact, during the latest edition of IPL, De Kock remained the second-highest run-getter from Mumbai Indians’ star-studded batting line up. He played several match-winning knocks while taking the team over the line and finally clinched the trophy with the team.

In April 2019, he was named in South Africa’s World Cup squad, and ICC recognized him as the key player of his team. In February 2020, during their home series against England, he scored his 15th ODI ton and became the joint second quickest Protea to amass 5000 ODI runs. He has been with his national team in 47 Tests, 121 ODIs, and 44 T20Is and has 2934, 5135, and 1226 runs, respectively, to his credit. In July 2020, he was named as South Africa’s Men’s cricketer of the year at their annual awards ceremony.