Not only the Proteas’ gloveman, de Kock was one of his side’s most reliable sources of runs – only Dean Elgar made more Test runs for South Africa in 2021.

The man set to fill de Kock’s shoes for the rest of the ongoing series against India is Kyle Verreynne. Here’s the lowdown on South Africa’s next Test gloveman.

Who is Kyle Verreynne?

Verreynne is a 24-year-old right-handed wicketkeeper-batter born in Pretoria who attended Wynberg Boys’ High School in Cape Town, where Jacques Kallis was once a student. Since making his first-class debut in 2015, he has thrived in South African domestic cricket for Western Province and the Cape Cobras franchise side and holds a first-class batting average of 51.95 after 50 matches, with his record including five centuries and a career-best of 216* against the Warriors in March 2021. He’s kept wicket in 47 of those 50 matches, and his average actually jumps to 53.36 with the gloves on.

Has Kyle Verreynne played any international cricket?

Verreynne is not coming out nowhere – he’s already had a taste of international cricket. He made his ODI debut back in February 2020 against Australia and made scores of 48, 3 and 50 in a 3-0 series win. Most recently, he fell five runs short of a maiden international century against Netherlands at Centurion last November. After nine ODIs he holds a healthy average of 40.42.

He also made his Test debut in 2021, playing two matches against the West Indies.

How did he do against the red ball?

With de Kock in the line-up, Verreynne began his Test career as a specialist batter, operating at No.5 in two matches in St Lucia. His highest score in three innings was an 89-ball 27 in his second Test in which he shared an 87-run stand with Dean Elgar. In a tough introduction to the Test scene, he edged behind to wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva off right-arm pace in all three innings.

What now?

The early retirement of de Kock has opened up an unexpected opportunity for Verreynne, who seemed set to build an international career as a specialist batter. He enters a side that has not only lost one of its star players but is also at serious risk of losing a Test series against India at home for the very first time. On the flip side, an impressive display against Virat Kohli’s men would be a healthy evidence to suggest that not all is lost from the departure of de Kock.