Quinton de Kock takes a 'mental health' break, to skip domestic T20 tournament

South African captain Quinton de Kock has decided to take a ‘mental health’ break and will not take part in the upcoming T20 domestic tournament due to medical advice. The chief executive of the South Africa Cricketers’ Association (SACA), Andrew Breetzke has revealed that the skipper will take some time off the game and it might be “for a few weeks”.

Quinton de Kock, who was the ODI and T20I captain of the South African team, had agreed to lead the team in red-ball cricket for this season, as Cricket South Africa was struggling to find a captain in their ranks. De Kock led the team to Pakistan for two Tests recently and had underwhelming outcomes. 

The team lost both the matches as the skipper faced criticism for his batting as well as captaincy. Last month, he also spoke about the current situation in which cricketers have lived in the biosecure bubbles because of COVID-19 restrictions. He had said that he was feeling the strain of being in this environment. 

Faf du Plessis not named in any of the domestic sides along with Quinton de Kock

Ahead of the Pakistan tour, he had expressed his mixed feelings on touring Pakistan because of the frustration which develops due to the confined environment. He had also questioned the sustainability of the bio bubble and termed it as ‘unsettling.’ De Kock got some backing from Breetzke, who told ESPNCricinfo, “SACA and Cricket South Africa will continue to support him through this process.”

South Africa’s director of cricket Graeme Smith had previously said that all the national team players were told to take part in the domestic T20 tournament along with the four-day matches which are still left in the domestic season. However, along with De Kock, Faf du Plessis was also not named in the squads of the franchises which was announced. There has been no report on why Du Plessis’ name was absent. 

All the T20 matches will be played in Durban between February 19 and 29, with players staying in a bio-secure environment. The Test players have arrived in the country a few days back after playing the Test series in Pakistan, but the players who played in the T20I series will come to the bio bubble of the domestic tournament directly.