Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar expressed his joy as South African opener Quinton de Kock delivered a spectacular performance in an ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match against Bangladesh.
However, Manjrekar’s delight was tinged with disappointment, as De Kock's fireworks in ODI cricket would come to an end after the ongoing Cricket World Cup 2023 in India.
Notably, the left-handed opener announced his retirement from ODIs after the World Cup 2023 in order to extend his T20 career and spend more quality time with his family. De Kock's remarkable run of form in the 2023 World Cup has been nothing short of extraordinary.
The South African wicketkeeper-batter has notched up three centuries in just five games, leaving Manjrekar in awe.
De Kock smashed centuries against Sri Lanka, Australia, and Bangladesh and became the first South African cricketer to do so in a single edition of the World Cup.
Sanjay Manjrekar was quoted as saying by Star Sports: “Sometimes, you just have to accept that these are excellent batting conditions and he is a superb batter. I am thinking of a petition maybe to the South African cricket board to ensure that he doesn’t retire after the World Cup because this is a treat that we won’t get to watch anymore in 50 overs cricket.”
Reacting to Manjrekar’s comments, former South African captain Faf du Plessis said, “Yeah, I think so. He is way too young and he is probably in the best phase of his career. But that’s the challenges of world cricket now, I think a lot of players after this World Cup might be in a similar category. Yeah, I will sign up for that petition.”
(With PTI/IANS Inputs)
