Quintion de Kock is perhaps one of the best young cricketers in the world. He lit up the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016 with an excellent match-wining century against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). He has been one of Delhi Daredevils’ (DD) mainstay in this edition and has led from the front, opening the batting for them. He has been on a high recently, not only with his performances in the IPL but also for South Africa. De Kock in an exclusive interview to Pramod Ananth, talks about Zaheer Khan, Rahul Dravid, young talent in DD, his favourite batting partner and more. READ: IPL 2016: Quinton de Kock’s century for Delhi Daredevils only proves that he is the best young batsman in the world
Here are the excerpts from the interview:
CricketCountry (CC): The Delhi Daredevils (DD) season has been a mixed and inconsistent one so far. What is your take on the entire season and do you see yourself making it to the playoffs?
Quinton de Kock (QDK): We have not been the most consistent teams but we have been unlucky in a couple of games. We still have a chance (to qualify for playoffs) if we play to our potential in the last couple of games. We are going to see what we can do, get the points and see if we can go through or not. The net run rate too will be important.
CC: You have been in good form of late. You even scored a century in the IPL recently. Looking at your form for DD and South Africa, would you perhaps say that you are in the form of your life?
QDK: No. It’s not really form when it is your job to try and score runs. I play for South Africa to score runs, I play for Delhi to score runs. I do not know what you call ‘form’. I am just trying to do my best at what I do.
CC: Being one of the bright, young cricketers in the world, how is it to play alongside young Indian cricketers like Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson and so on?
QDK: Watching them grow up, watching them smash the ball around, especially Rishabh Pant. He is just walked on to the circuit and smashed everyone. He is only got a couple of games, there are still a lot of games to be played. All the teams have not seen him yet. We will see how it goes, but I hope he does well for the team and hopefully he gets to play for India soon. It has been good watching the young guys have a go at it.
CC: What have you learnt from Rahul Dravid being at Delhi and what is your overall experience of working with him?
QDK:I haven’t worked with him much. His focus has been more on the young Indian stars. I have not had any time to chat to him. He has probably helped out the other guys, I have not really made the effort to go and have a chat with him. I have been busy.
CC: What sort of a captain is Zaheer Khan? Is he someone who gives you a lot of advice or does he give you the freedom to play your natural game?
QDK: I think a bit of both. He lets us play our own game and also provides guidance, whether we take or not, that is up to us. He has got a creative mind and helps us out. He is quite a good captain.
CC: You have had a few injuries in your career in the recent past. How is your body holding up?
QDK: My body is good. Just playing 20-20 cricket now at the moment, that is not a problem. As I play the longer formats, I will make sure I am fit for that. The injuries have been freak injuries. There have been random injuries that have come up from nowhere.
CC: You are an established player for South Africa in the limited overs cricket, but in Tests, there is Dane Vilas, who is competing for a place. With a century against England under your belt, would you say that you will be the first-choice wicketkeeper in Tests as well?
CC: What is about the Indian bowlers and conditions that make you such an unstoppable force?
QDK: Not just Indian bowlers in the IPL. There are some good bowlers here. All the Indian guys are good bowlers, quite skillful. It does not help them if the wickets here are batting friendly. Makes a lot harder for them especially if we play at places like Bengaluru or Mumbai. It’s more of a batter’s game in those places. These things have really helped me, but it’s unfortunate for the bowlers.
CC: Who is your favourite player to bat alongside be it for South Africa or DD and why?
QDK: Favourite guy to bat with is Hash (Hashim Amla). That is probably because we are close friends also. We get along really well. We just compliment each other well, makes me feel comfortable at the crease. At Delhi, I love batting with Mayank Agarwal. Very chilled, we like to have fun out there when we play. I have a good relationship with him. We just enjoy it all the time.
CC: Which bowler do you enjoy facing the most?
QDK: I do not really have a favourite. Not too sure. I enjoy facing the medium pacers. You are not scared of anything. They are probably more skillful. At least you know that you would not have your head taken off by someone who bowls at 150.
(Pramod Ananthis a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)
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