Faf du Plessis: “Quinny is just at the bottom of the wave at the moment but I know he’ll fight back to get on top again”
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South Africa captain Faf du Plessis acknowledged that Quinton de Kock has struggled to have an impact with the bat as of late, but is confident the 25-year-old will bounce back sooner rather than later.
De Kock failed to make his presence felt in the recently concluded Test series against India, which South Africa won 2-1, as he scored 71 runs in three Tests at a measly average of 11.83.
With a four-Test series against Australia starting on March 1, Du Plessis knows that De Kock will play a vital role. However, while he was unable to fire against India, the South African skipper insists there is no need to panic just yet.
“We all go through lean patches. I think the white ball is coming at a good time for Quinny, it will unshackle him,” Du Plessis was quoted as saying by Sport24. “He’s obviously disappointed, as any player would be. He will go back and work hard on his game and make sure he can be better for the Australian series.”
Du Plessis added that there is no need to change De Kock’s approach or mentality when it comes to batting as that could do more harm than good.
“With Quinny, he’s a personality that doesn’t think too much about technical stuff. He’s a free spirit, x-factor player,” Du Plessis said. “So when things go wrong, as any player, you’ll feel like there’s pressure on you to perform.
“For Quinny it is just confidence. As soon as he gets one innings where he’s hitting the ball in the middle again, he’ll just jump straight back onto that boat of relaxing and just playing his game.
“I think it’s very important that you don’t try and change the way Quinton plays, because if you start talking from a technical point of view to Quinton – he’s never played the game like that.
“It’s just the case that sometimes in cricket you’re in form and you’re on top and the runs come. Quinny is just at the bottom of the wave at the moment but I know he’ll fight back to get on top again.”