Maharaj replaces de Kock as Durban's Super Giants captain
"He is still a leader within the team and his experience and knowledge of the game is invaluable," Maharaj says of de Kock
ESPNcricinfo staff
14-Jul-2023
Under de Kock, Durban's Super Giants finished fifth in the six-team SA20 • Getty Images
Quinton de Kock has been removed as captain at SA20 side Durban's Super Giants and replaced by Keshav Maharaj for the 2024 edition of the tournament.
"I am super happy, humbled and privileged to accept the opportunity as the captain of the DSG franchise in the next SA20 league," Maharaj said in a video released by the franchise on Friday. "I am super excited, being a Durban boy - been here 18 years of my life, and it's a place that I call home for me. So I am hoping I can bring some performances from domestic cricket into the SA20, from a leadership perspective and from a player's perspective."
Former South Africa captain de Kock, a part of the squad at both the Super Giants franchises - Lucknow in the IPL and Durban in the SA20 - led the team in the inaugural season of the six-team South African league, where they finished one off the bottom after winning four of their ten games (the same as third- and fourth-placed Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Paarl Royals, respectively, but behind them on net run-rate). De Kock was one of the better performers with the bat for the team, scoring 271 runs at a strike rate of 151.39 in nine innings.
"I'd like to thank Quinny for all the hard work that he has done on and off the field," Maharaj said. "However, his job is not over. He is still a leader within the team and his experience and knowledge of the game is invaluable to this unit. And it's going to be a large and integral part to play for us in terms of bringing the trophy to Durban this year."
Durban, this is your captain speaking pic.twitter.com/hWoX7YU2G2
— Durban's Super Giants (@DurbansSG) July 14, 2023
De Kock also mostly warmed the bench at the IPL this year, with Lucknow preferring Kyle Mayers to him. De Kock reached the IPL late after being on national duty, and Mayers, his replacement at the top of the order, scored 73 in 38 balls and 53 in 22 balls in the two games the team played before de Kock's arrival. De Kock did slam a 41-ball 70 in one game - against Gujarat Titans - when he opened with Mayers after an injury had ruled KL Rahul, the regular captain and opener, out of the competition.
Maharaj, who hasn't played competitively since early March this year after rupturing an Achilles tendon during the Johannesburg Test against West Indies, didn't have a particularly impressive SA20 2023, bowling in eight innings (23 overs) and picking up four wickets at an economy of 7.86.
He has, however, been looked at as a leader in South African cricket, and has led the national side in seven ODIs and five T20Is between 2021 and 2022.