Previously, the wicketkeeper-batter had hung up his boots from ODIs after the ICC CWC 2023.
Former South African opener Quinton de Kock has decided to come out of his ODI retirement to feature in the upcoming tour of Pakistan, which will commence on October 12. As the Proteas captain, Temba Bavuma, has been ruled out of the tour due to a calf strain that he sustained during the recent tour of England, Matthew Breetzke is all set to lead the Proteas ODI side against the Men in Green.
Previously, the 32-year-old had hung up his boots from the 50-over format after the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 in India. The Proteas had suffered a three-wicket defeat to the eventual champions, Australia, in the second semi-final to crash out of the tournament. But the southpaw had enjoyed a tremendous run of form in the 50-over marquee event hosted by India.
He finished the tournament with 594 runs in 10 matches, averaging 59.40, including four tons, which was the highest of that CWC edition. With these extraordinary stats, the wicketkeeper-batter also became the third-highest run-scorer of the league, after the former Indian captain Virat Kohli and the Indian ODI skipper Rohit Sharma.
The player who had also led the Proteas in 23 international fixtures, combining all three formats of the game, will resume his ODI career at 6,770 runs off 155 matches, laced with 21 hundreds and 30 half-centuries. Moreover, South Africa’s head coach Shukri Conrad banked on the veteran batter to elevate the team’s strengths ahead of the upcoming ODI World Cup in 2027.
“The white-ball leg of the tour presents valuable opportunities to build depth and test ourselves as we continue shaping squads for the T20 and 50-over World Cups. Quinton’s return to the white-ball space is a major boost for us. When we spoke last month about his future, it was clear that he still has a strong ambition to represent his country,” stated the SA head coach.
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The Proteas are set to visit Pakistan for an all-format tour in October 2025. The overseas series will include two Tests, followed by three T20I and ODI fixtures. Three different skippers, Aiden Markram, Breetzke and David Miller will captain South Africa in the Test, ODI and T20I series, respectively.
Notably, the first Test in Lahore, which will kick off the multi-format series, will also begin their campaign in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle. Earlier, South Africa had defeated the reigning champions Australia in the WTC 2025 Final in June 2025 to claim their second ICC title.
Matthew Breetzke (C), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Tony de Zorzi, Donovan Ferreira, Bjorn Fortuin, George Linde, Kwena Maphaka, Lungi Ngidi, Nqaba Peter, Lhuan-dré Pretorius, Sinethemba Qeshile.
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