Ahmedabad: Quinton de Kock showed up to the pre-match press conference with a nonchalant attitude. The answer was brief, bordering on contempt. This is a new De Kock, who returned to international cricket two months ago after an 18-month gap since the 2024 T20 World Cup final defeat to India.
In a way, de Kock charts the renaissance of South African cricket culture over the past two years. Last year, they won the World Test Championship, shaking off the “suffocation” tag. “We haven’t talked about the T20 final after the game. We went back home and dealt with it in our own way. I don’t know if other people talked about it when I was away. But I haven’t talked about it since I rejoined the team.” De Kock responded briefly when talking about the 2024 final.
Did winning the World Trade Center title help them shake off their reputation as “The Chokers”? “I am not involved in it. I am not even watching the games because I play in the American league and they don’t have these games on TV there. Likewise, there has not been any discussion about it since I joined,” the goalkeeper claimed.
Cricket South Africa is often criticized for complicating things. Under Aiden Markram, the chief architect of last June’s World Trade Center final victory over Australia, they have taken a different approach. First, Markram found clarity as a T20 batsman when he opened up the batting. De Kock, who has been India’s nemesis since the start of his career in 2013, has just joined Markram at the top of the order. “We’ve never had an opener before. Aiden has always been in different situations, so he always has to adapt. The opening batsman almost has one thing to do. It’s easier for him to handle too. Maybe, he’s got the clarity as an opener,” de Kock opined.
It’s clear that this South African team doesn’t want to dwell on the past. De Kock doesn’t even want to talk about his ominous record against India. He just thought it was playing on good ground. The team has found the motivation and preparation to challenge India for the T20 World Championship title.
