"Quinton de Kock's original plan was to retire altogether"- SA coach Rob Walter beaks intriguing news ahead of home series against India

South Africa's white-ball coach Rob Walter dropped a bombshell when he told reporters that veteran opener Quinton de Kock wanted to retire from international cricket after the 2023 World Cup.

Walter claimed that he had to convince De Kock to be available for selection for the T20I format. The southpaw then decided to hang his boots just in the one-day format, having already quit red-ball cricket.

Here's what Rob Walter had to say about Quinton de Kock after announcing the squad on Monday:

"In conversations with Quinny at the time of him walking away from ODI cricket [after the World Cup in India, which ended last month], it was originally his plan to retire altogether. I asked him to hold off on that decision. He had a Big Bash opportunity which clashed with the India series. In order to keep him in the game this was the resolution."

South Africa's T20I squad: Aiden Markram (c), Ottniel Baartman, Matthew Breetzke, Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee (1st and 2nd T20Is), Donovan Ferreira, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen (1st and 2nd T20Is), Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi (1st and 2nd T20Is), Andile Phehlukwayo, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, and Lizaad Williams.

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Rob Walter on resting Temba Bavuma

South African skipper Temba Bavuma will be available just for the two Tests against India as he has been rested from the white-ball leg. Rob Walter said that management made a conscious decision to keep Bavuma's mental workload in check after a hectic World Cup campaign.

On this, Walter said:

"Temba’s been phenomenal throughout the year, but there’s a mental toll in terms of the pressures of a World Cup. The scrutiny on a captain is even more pronounced. For him to step away for a while and prioritise being ready for the Test series is important to us. In fact, we want all of our key players to be in the best shape for that [Test] series and that drove our decision-making."

South Africa are yet to lose a Test series to India on home soil, having beaten the visitors 2-1 back in 2021-22.