Quinton de Kock

Every once in a while, usually a very long while, there comes a player who manages to capture your imagination. Quinton de Kock is one such talent from South Africa. Some of the feats which he has accomplished at his age are unfathomable and it's easy to see why he is already being heralded as a future great. Not only is de Kock one heck of a batsman, but the value he brings to the side by donning the gloves is tremendous.

De Kock went to King Edward VII High School, the same school which Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie attended. He rose to prominence as part of the South Africa U-19 side and ended up as his team's highest run-scorer during the 2012 World Cup in Australia. Later that year, playing for the Lions in the Champions League T20, de Kock caught the eye of a larger audience with a sparkling knock to help his team over the line against Mumbai Indians.

It paved the way for him to make it to the national team in a T20I series against New Zealand two months later, as AB de Villiers wanted a break. However, international success didn't come early for de Kock. It was only a year later, when he scored those three successive ODI hundreds against India, that people started taking notice of his humongous talent.

He was pretty much in and out of the side for the rest of the year until he came up against once more and solidified his position with a couple of hundreds in a five-match ODI series.

At this point, it had been a little under two years of de Kock making his Test debut. He never really made the spot his own. Despite the ODI success in India, Dane Vilas was chosen over him to be the wicketkeeper in the following Test series. However, it was the year 2016 which de Kock truly made his own and produced performances which would go on to evoke comparisons with a legend like Adam Gilchrist.

Hitting a purple patch during the middle of the year, de Kock became the fifth South African to score five fifty-plus scores in a row, a streak which culminated with a match-winning hundred against Australia at Hobart which sealed the series for the visitors. De Kock's style of play in the previous Test at Perth, where he made counter-attacking fifties, followed by Hobart, revived great memories of their own legendary wicketkeeper batsman for many Australian supporters.

Not just the Test format, de Kock thrived in limited-overs cricket too in 2016. He started off with a couple of hundreds against England at home before emerging as South Africa's highest run-getter in the World T20 to be named in the ICC's team of the tournament. Later in the year, he played perhaps his most memorable ODI knock to date as he destroyed Australia with a during a 113-ball 178 at Centurion.

World Cup through the years..

If South Africa's 2019 World Cup chances depend on Rabada the bowler then it is equally dependent on Quinton de Kock the batsman. de Kock is going to be the lead batsman for South Africa in this edition and his ability to read the game from behind the wickets will also come in handy for Faf du Plessis. It will be de Kock's second World Cup as he was part of the 2015 hearbreak.

He didn't have a memorable 2015 World Cup as an ankle injury threatened to jeopardize de Kock's participation. But the then 22-year-old made it back in time for the mega event. His form though eluded him right through the tournament. Opening the innings for South Africa, he crossed the score of 20 just twice in eight matches.

de Kock's aim would be not only to correct the last edition but also to continue his recent form which has seen him score runs everywhere. At the top of the order with Amla's form in question and Markram an unknown entity in World Cup, the batting hinges on de Kock's shoulders. He fires then South Africa fires.