T20I Captaincy Is Still Du Plessis' Baby, I Was Just A Replacement: Quinton de Kock

De Kock won't be hesitant to captain South Africa at the T20 World Cup next year but he believes that it will still be Faf du Plessis at the helm

South Africa’s new T20I skipper, Quinton de Kock received plaudits for his heroics against India recently. Not only he led the Proteas to level the 3-match series 1-1, but the wicketkeeper-batsman has also been in imperious form with the bat. He slammed 52 in the second T20I and a match-winning 79 in the third. Despite a successful outing on the Indian soil, 26-year-old believes that captaincy in the shortest format is still Faf du Plessis’ baby. However, he won't be hesitant to lead the side at the T20 World Cup next year. “The way I see it is that I was just a replacement. That's the way I took it. For now, it's still Faf's baby. But maybe if things change and if they do want me to do it, then I will do it,” ESPNcricinfo quoted de Kock as saying. “For the moment, I am not looking too far ahead. I am just trying to look at how I can help out the youngsters, the new guys in the T20 team, just getting better and getting ready for the T20 World Cup next year. But if that (captaincy) does come upon me, then I will try to grab it with both hands,” he added. He said that South Africa can take inspiration from England, who will be touring the country for a four-Test series, followed by an ODI and T20I series of three matches each over the course of December, January and February. “We are not the first team that has gone through a transition. England did it after their last World Cup and look at them. Four years later, they ended up winning the thing,” de Kock said. De Kock has been their highest scorer in the longest format this year and third overall in the world with 584 runs at 44.92. He is also their second-highest run-scorer in ODIs after du Plessis with 774 runs in 17 games at 48.37.