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South Africa‘s middle-order batter, Rassie van der Dussen, has identified a player to potentially replace the explosive batter Quinton de Kock in white-ball formats.
Quinton de Kock limited cricketing horizon
De Kock retired from ODIs after the ODI World Cup 2023 and has already retired from Test cricket, making him available only for T20Is, although he was given a break in the recently concluded T20I series against India. The upcoming T20 World Cup 2024, scheduled to be held in the West Indies and the United States of America (USA) in June 2024, might be the last ICC event where De Kock participates.
Uncertain future for De Kock
Even if de Kock remains available for South Africa in T20Is, his place in the team is not guaranteed. South Africa’s white-ball coach, Rob Walter, confirmed late last year that De Kock initially wanted to retire entirely from international cricket but was persuaded to stay on. However, if De Kock fails to secure his place, there will be a need for someone to replace him, and van der Dussen has proposed a new name.
Van der Dussen believed that his MI Cape Town teammate in SA20 league, Ryan Rickelton, would be the most suitable candidate to replace de Kock.
“Quinny (de Kock) will be moving on and Ryan fits into that mould of someone who can replace Quinny. He definitely has the game. He’s very resilient and sometimes setbacks give you a platform to come back,” Van der Dussen was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
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A talent too hard to ignore
He further mentioned that Rickelton was disappointed for being overlooked in the Proteas squad but believes that if given the chance, it would be difficult for everyone to ignore his talent.
“I know how hard he works, he keeps his head down, he was disappointed not to be in the Proteas squads, anyone would be, but he has worked on it. I really hope it continues and he has a strong tournament to remind people he’s still there and he’s a world class player. I’ve seen what he can do and I suppose if he puts the numbers on, you can’t really ignore him,” the 34-year-old concluded.
