There won’t be any hangover on the players about Quinton de Kock’s retirement: Dean Elgar

The
29-year-old
wicketkeeper-batsman,
de
Kock,
shocked
the
cricketing
fraternity
with
his
decision
to
quit
the
longest
format
of
the
game,
midway
through
the
three-Test
series
against
India.
De
Kock
retired
from
the
traditional
format
at
the
end
of
the
opening
Test
against
India,
which
the
hosts
lost
by
113
runs
at
SuperSport
Park
on
Thursday.

“I
was
pretty
shocked.
But
sitting
down
with
Quinney
(Quinton
de
Kock),
he
explained
his
reasons
and
I
respect
and
fully
understand
his
decision,”
Elgar
said
at
a
virtual
press
conference
on
the
eve
of
the
second
Test.
“I
don’t
think
there
will
be
any,”
Elgar
responded
when
asked
if
there
will
be
any
hangover
on
the
players
about
his
retirement.

“The
responsibility
for
us
is
to
carry
and
conduct
ourselves
as
international
players.
We
still
have
to
be
professional
around
this.
We
still
have
a
Test
series
to
level,
so
I
don’t
think
there
will
be
any
hangover
or
shock
over
Quinney’s
retirement.

“Players
respect
the
environment.
We
realise
that
we
had
a
few
setbacks
in
recent
times
and
we
need
to
obviously
have
to
be
clever
around
it
and
get
over
it.
I
don’t
see
this
affecting
the
players
of
still
being
shocked
about
his
retirement.”

Asked
if
it
will
set
a
dangerous
precedent
for
Test
cricket
with
talented
players
giving
up
the
red-ball
game
for
big
bucks
through
white-ball
tournaments,
Elgar
said:
“I
don’t
think
his
decision
is
going
to
jeopardise
Test
cricket
going
forward.

“His
reasons
are
his
reasons
and
his
choice
to
retire,
we
as
a
group
fully
respect
it
and
we
as
a
group
have
to
get
over
it
and
move
on
now.
“The
game
moves
on
when
guys
retire.
I
have
been
fortunate
enough
to
experience
some
of
the
big
guys
retire,
one
thing
I
realised,
the
game
doesn’t
stop
for
you,
we
have
to
get
over
it
quickly
and
respect
the
position
Quinney
is
in.”

Elgar,
who
has
seen
many
top
cricketers
retire
during
his
stint
with
the
team,
said
it
is
disappointing
to
not
have
de
Kock
around.
“If
it
was
up
to
me,
I
would
not
have
any
of
these
guys
retirement
but
it
is
part
and
parcel
of
the
game,
it
is
out
of
your
hand.
Don’t
get
me
wrong,
not
having
Quinton
around
is
disappointing
for
me,
something
I
need
to
get
over,”
he
said.

“I
know
there
are
many
other
talented
cricketers
within
our
squad
and
the
system
whom
I
have
to
give
attention
to
now.
It
is
perfectly
fine
as
tough
as
it
is.”
Elgar
feels
spinner
Keshav
Maharaj
will
retain
his
place
in
the
playing
XI
in
the
second
Test
as
he
has
a
big
role
to
play
in
the
series.

“I
am
a
fan
of
a
frontline
spin
bowler
and
Keshav
put
up
his
hand,
he
has
played
the
domestic
game
and
Test
series
against
Australia.
I
think
he
will
retain
his
spot,
he
didn’t
have
a
horrible
game.

“I
can
throw
the
ball
to
him
and
he
can
bring
down
the
run
rate
down,
so
I
think
he
will
retain
his
spot.”
The
Proteas
captain
said
the
team
will
look
to
exploit
Keshav’s
left-arm
spin
against
the
Indian
batting
line-up
which
comprises
mostly
right-handers.

“Sometimes,
you
go
for
horses
for
courses,
but
Keshav
adapts
to
conditions,
he
is
a
smart
and
capable
cricketer
and
his
record
speaks
for
himself,”
he
said.
“I
feel
left-arm
spinners
bowling
to
10
right-handed
batters
in
India
is
something
we
would
like
to
utilise.
From
a
stability
point
of
view,
he
still
has
an
extremely
big
role
to
play
in
this
Test
series.”

The
hosts
were
dismissed
for
197
and
191
in
the
opening
Test.
Elgar
hoped
that
his
team
“can
adopt
the
language”
it
has
been
speaking
in
the
last
few
days.
“Players
have
to
take
responsibility.
You
can
talk
and
talk
until
there
is
action
and
I
did
say
to
the
guys
that
I
need
to
see
action
now,
talk
is
cheap
if
you
don’t
have
any
reaction
to
those
talks,”
he
said.

“Test
cricket
is
a
hard
and
ruthless
environment
and
if
you
want
to
survive,
you
need
to
respond
to
hard
questions.
“I
am
sure
they
are
also
disappointed
and
they
are
not
bad
players,
they
just
have
to
be
mentally
switched
on
and
Test
cricket
is
bloody
tough.
You
will
face
the
best
bowlers
in
the
world
now
and
you
need
to
put
on
your
big
boy
pants
and
need
to
react.”

(With
PTI
inputs)