Quinton de Kock named South Africa’s Test Captain

Cricket South Africa has appointed Quinton de Kock as the captain of the team for the upcoming Sri Lanka Test series. Quinton de Kock is also leading the South African team in the One-day and T20 Internationals. The wicketkeeper will now be donning the captain’s hat in the most extended format of the game too.

However, Quinton has been appointed as the temporary Test captain for the 2020/21 season. The South Africa cricket board is yet to finalize a permanent skipper for the purest format in the next few months. 

Handing over the captaincy reins to Quinton was an unexpected decision from CSA. Graeme Smith, SA director of cricket, had viewed that De Kock should not be made the Test captain so that the batsman could remain fresh.

The team management did not want to burden the cricketer with more responsibilities. Since the team will have a light schedule, De Kock won’t be loaded with a lot of responsibilities. Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, and Temba Bavuma were also the possible contenders for the upcoming season.

De Kock is happy to continue in the role for the upcoming season, says Chief Selector

The Proteas team will feature in seven Test Matches this coming summer. South Africa will be playing two matches against Sri Lanka. Followed that they will play two matches in Pakistan and three against Australia. 

Discussing Quinton’s appointment as Test captain, chief selector Victor Mpitsang is confident that the wicketkeeper will be the perfect fit for this role.

The Chief selector added that Quinton is comfortable with the workload and the committee backs him fully as a captain. He also said that CSA is also satisfied with the leadership group in the team. They are cultivating a robust individual leadership culture so that the unit produces a sustainable stream of potential captains for the future.

Du Plessis is also a part of the 15-man squad. Uncapped players Sarel Erwee, Glenton Stuurman, and Kyle Verreyne will earn their first call-ups. Kagiso Rabada and Dwaine Pretorius are not ready for selection as they picked up injuries. South Africa will play their first Test match against Sri Lanka on 26 December in Centurion.

South Africa Test Squad

Quinton de Kock (C), Faf du Plessis, Temba Bavuma, Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Beuran Rassie van der Dussen, Sarel Erwee, Kyle Verreynne, Hendricks, Keshav Maharaj, Glenton Stuurman, Wiaan Mulder, Keegan Petersen, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi.

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