MOHALI – Quinton de Kock is prepared for the extra responsibility of being South Africa's new white-ball captain and hopes to deliver his best as a leader in the second T20 against hosts India in Mohali on Wednesday.
With the first game at Dharamsala washed out, the series is now a two-match affair.
De Kock, 26, last led South Africa in the final two One-Day Internationals of the five-match series in Sri Lanka in 2018, both of which ended in defeats. Now in charge of a young and relatively inexperienced side in the T20 Internationals against India, he wants to make a positive impact.
De Kock shrugged off suggestions that the extra responsibility of captaincy would weigh on his mind. "I'm not too concerned," he said. "It's just a new stepping stone in my career.
"[It] just gives me a bit of extra responsibility in the team. We'll see how it goes. It can affect me negatively or positively – I'm not sure at the moment. Hopefully, it gives me the positive energy and I give the best I can do.”
The wicket-keeper batsman won't have the experience of AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis or Hashim Amla to count on in his side. However, he doesn't expect their absence or his new responsibilities to change his style of play, or that of the younger lot.
"I think they (De Villiers, Amla and Du Plessis) gave me lots of room to play the way I want. I don't see it why that would change without them here," he said.
"Even they in their careers went through the same things that we're going through right now. So, we will take it as it comes.
"In the leadership group within the team we have discussions, we've had a chat about how we're going to go about things. So far it is under control, but we are also still learning. We are still quite a young leadership team. Hopefully, when our careers finish ... the youngsters coming through would learn from our mistakes.
"Obviously, it was a bit of negative," De Kock agreed. "Now that we have only two games in this series, we better take our chances. The focus before the World T20 is to prepare in different conditions and to lose a game is not ideal."