South Africa Coach Labels Quinton De Kock As Great As Virat Kohli Or Rohit Sharma

South Africa’s batting coach Ashwell Prince have lauded Quinton De Kock as one of the greatest amongst the South African team.

South Africa’s batting coach Ashwell Prince have opined that Quinton De Kock is as massive as Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma in the Indian team. Quinton de Kock has made a powerful return to one-day international cricket after briefly retiring last year. His comeback during the recent series in Pakistan was remarkable, where he scored 239 runs in just three matches.

“I think he’s big, he’s massive. With Rohit [Sharma] and Virat [Kohli] coming to the Indian team, I think Quinny probably has a similar effect coming into our team with his experience, with his quality that we saw in Pakistan,” Prince said in an official statement as quoted by ESPN.

“His presence definitely boosted the dressing room and we got quite a few young left-handers and just quite a few young players in the team. For them to sit around and have a few conversations with him and also be out with him in the middle and bat with him, I think that does a lot for their growth – being able to bat with him out in the middle. So he is a big influence for us,” Prince added.

Notably, De Kock is as close as Kohli or Rohit in the ODI format with his remarkable stats. At 32, de Kock scored 7,009 runs in 158 matches at an impressive average of 46.72 and a strike rate of 96.47. With 22 centuries and 32 fifties to his name.

Prince Praises Marco Jansen’s Growth

The team is also excited about the progress of all-rounder Marco Jansen, who played a key role in their Test series win against India. Prince explained the thinking behind Jansen’s aggressive batting approach.

“I think what’s important for Marco is clarity about how he bats. When you’re batting at No. 8, No. 9, generally you don’t have a lot of partners. So for him… once he gets in, he needs to score quickly, because he’s only got one or two partners to come. So playing an aggressive role is something that we discussed,” Prince added.

Prince also highlighted how the team adapted to the conditions. “When we come to India, we don’t expect the pitches to bounce as much as that one did… Therefore, we say adapting to what is in front of us is the most important thing.”

The first ODI between India and South Africa, which will see KL Rahul as the India captain, is slated for November 30, 2025 and will be played at the JSCA International Stadium Complex at Ranchi.