Quinton de Kock took a shock retirement from Tests after South Africa lost to India at Centurion. While the wicketkeeper will not be seen in whites anymore, his newborn has certainly brought luck as Proteas beat India in the second Test.
South Africa wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock and his wife Sasha welcomed their first child on Thursday. The wicketkeeper, who took a shock retirement from Tests recently, shared the news on social media with a heartfelt post that included a series of pictures wherein de Kock could be seen with his wife and the newborn daughter. The couple named the baby ‘Kiara’. (More Cricket News)
“How’s it my name is Kiara !!” said de Kock while sharing the lovely pictures on social media and tagging his better half in it. The post, in no time, went viral, attracting immense love from the followers of de Kock and his well-wishers.
De Kock's former teammate Dale Steyn also congratulated the couple by commenting, "Welcome Kiara! Well done mom and dad!"
Meanwhile, five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians, for whom de Kock used to play, reposted one of the pictures de Kock shared and wrote: “Heartiest congratulations to Quinton and Sasha for the birth of their daughter Kiara. Best wishes from #OneFamily #MumbaiIndians @QuinnyDeKock69.”
It is worth noting that 29-year-old Quinton de Kock dramatically quit Test cricket after India won the first Test at Centurion in December last year. While for everyone, the sudden retirement of the southpaw from the longest format of the game was a shocker, de Kock revealed that he came to the decision after giving it a long thought.
“This is not a decision that I have come to very easily. I have taken a lot of time to think about what my future looks like and what needs to take priority in my life now that Sasha and I are about to welcome our first child into this world and look to grow our family beyond that,” de Kock said in an official statement.
“My family is everything to me and I want to have the time and space to be able to be with them during this new and exciting chapter of our lives,” he had added.
While de Kock called time on his career and left South Africa in middle of an important series, his baby girl certainly brought luck to his national cricket team as on Thursday, the side defeated India for the very first time in Johannesburg.
Skipper Dean Elgar’s gritty 96 not out helped the Proteas bag the second Test against India by 7 wickets and level the three-match Test series 1-1 with a match to go.