Ahmedabad: Quinton de Kock turned up for the pre-match press conference with don’t-care attitude. The answers were curt, bordering on being dismissive. This is a new De Kock, back in international cricket two months ago after a hiatus of 18 months since the loss to India in the T20 World Cup final in 2024.
In a way, de Kock depicts a resurgent South African cricket culture over the last two years. They have shed the chokers’ tag by lifting the World Test Championship title last year. “We haven’t spoken about that T20 final after the game. We went back to our homes and dealt with it in our own ways. I don’t know if the others have spoken about it when I wasn’t around. But I haven’t since I rejoined the team,” was De Kock’s curt response to the mention of the 2024 final.
Has winning the WTC helped them move on from being called chokers? “I wasn’t part of it. I didn’t even watch the match because I was in USA playing a league and they don’t have these matches on TV there. Again, there has been no discussion about it either since I joined,” claimed the wicketkeeper.
South African cricket has often been criticized for complicating things. Under Aiden Markram, the chief architect of that WTC final win against Australia at Lord’s last June, they have assumed a different approach. Markram, to start with himself, has found clarity as a T20 batter while opening the batting. De Kock, India’s nemesis since the start of his career in 2013, has just clicked with Markram joining at the top of the order. “We never used to open. Aiden had different situations all the time, so he always had to adapt. An opening batter has pretty much one sort of thing to do. That’s also easier for him to deal with. Probably, he has had the clarity that he’s had as an opener,” De Kock reckoned.
It’s clear that this South African team doesn’t want to dwell in the past. De Kock doesn’t even want to talk about his ominous record against India. He just dismisses it as playing on good surfaces. This team has found momentum and rearing to challenge India’s title as T20 World champions.