Time away has brought back my hunger: Quinton de Kock

Last month when Quinton de Kock officially returned to South Africa's white-ball squads for the Pakistan tour, head coach Shukri Conrad welcomed it whole-heartedly. He'd said 'Quinny was an enigma, and is still an enigma'. The keeper-batter had retired from ODIs following the World Cup in 2023 and hadn't featured in a T20I since the Men's World Cup in 2024 until the Pakistan series came along.

He had five quiet outings - one against Namibia in Windhoek followed by three in Pakistan, and a duck in the T20I opener in Cuttack. In Mullanpur however, he rekindled his older, menacing version to slap India with a 57-ball 90 that set up South Africa's massive victory. In the afterglow of that performance, de Kock spoke about finding his hunger to play for South Africa again.

"I think prior to my retirement, I was losing my hunger to win games for this team, specifically for the Proteas. And that time away just brought back my hunger," de Kock said after his match-winning knock in Mullanpur.

"I was telling the guys that I don't think I've ever felt this way. Whereas before, when you're young, you're trying to just play to score runs and impress. Be part of a team where 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. Where 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.

"I think over time that I was getting sick of it because I was looking for a new challenge and I wasn't getting it. Now coming back, I feel like this is actually what I missed. As everyone knows, you never know what you have until you've lost it. So that's kind of now coming back, where that renewed energy where I feel I can play much longer than what I thought previously," he added.

Until Thursday evening's knock, de Kock was looking all at sea in his comeback in T20Is. De Kock admitted he was annoyed with how 'sloppy' he was in the opening fixture and aimed to get into better positions in the second game, particularly while facing India's fast-bowling spearheads.

"Not much [changed]. I was just trying to get myself into a better position. I think initially I was quite irritated, disappointed with myself. The previous game, the way I got out was very sloppy. I knew if I stood a chance to score runs, just need to look after that in the first couple of balls, especially to a guy like Arshdeep and Bumrah, you have to be strong in your positions or otherwise they are going to find you out. You can't be loose."

De Kock also revealed that staging this return wasn't an overnight decision, and that the break he took was also much-needed when it came. "I think it was just time away from the international stage. It wasn't a decision that I just woke up and had," de Kock said. "I think over time, the longer break I had, the more I felt ready to come back. I had already played international cricket for more than a decade. That was pretty much it. I think when I left, I was quite exhausted from international cricket.

"So my break, I still feel, was much needed. Now when I came back, I've got a lot of energy that I can put back towards the team. And I've always said it to coach Shooks [Shukri Conrad], I want to play as long as I can now. I don't think I could have had that mindset if I carried on playing [without the break].

I think I actually would have finished my career earlier. Now with my break, I feel I can prolong my career. I feel fitter than ever. And mentally also, I'm not exhausted. So I feel like I'm happy to be back and I can give more back to the team," he added.

De Kock finding rhythm and runs in this format is a shot in the arm for the World Cup finalists from 2024, as they attempt to go one step further when the next edition comes along in February-March 2026.