There are many young players thriving in modern cricket who consistently play well, then there are very few youngsters who keep running for a short period of time. And then there is one man – Quinton de Kock. At the age of just 23, de Kock looks to have taken the world at his feet.

At an age when most players try to earn their place regularly in the team, de Kock is may be one of those very few talented players who along with being regular, performing like he has been there around forever. Having already played over 50 ODI’s and 29 T20 Internationals, de Kock has already surpassed the mesmerizing statistics of many players who haven’t been able to reach, at the end of their career.

And his recent display in IPL 2016 for Delhi Daredevils against Royal Challengers Bangalore was what you can tag a phenomenal performance, where he scored 108 to guide his team to a sensational victory and cementing his place in world cricket as the best young batsman in modern days.

You can never describe his knock against RCB with just some mere words. In the recently concluded t20 World Cup, the whole world was standing at its feet to applaud Virat Kohli’s 82 run innings against Australia. Well as a matter of fact, de Kock’s 108 can easily be regarded as similar if you consider the stature and performance. However the intensity of the match might not be same as India’s match, but the way de Kock came up with his knock, it can easily be suited alongside Kohli’s one.

While under pressure chasing a huge 192, de Kock paced his innings so smoothly that even Kohli might have bowed down to see the knock. A perfect blend of some wonderful boundaries and running between the wickets was the main highlight of his innings that attracted everyone. With wickets falling continuously from the other hand, de Kock not for a single moment lose his heart and waited for the right moment to launch an attack whenever there is a loose ball. His ability to read the match was obviously beyond his age.

Well, you may think, just after watching one good IPL innings, is he being over-hyped by the media? No, it’s not yesterday’s knock which has portrayed him so special, rather it’s his performances over the last 3 years which have made him a special talent apart from the other youngsters. His glittering record at such a young age is something for which even AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli, and Sachin Tendulkar would have been proud off.

Kohli vs de Kock in ODI at the age of 23

	Match	innings	runs	Highestscore	average	Strike- rate	100	50
Virat Kohli	69	69	2617	118	45.91	118.50	7	4
de Kock	57	57	2319	138*	42.94	91.66	10	5

De Kock has 57 innings in ODI career, and it’s really decent for his age of just 23. But the aspect which has set him apart from all the other talents is that he already has 10 centuries. Can you believe it? He even became the youngest and quickest batsman to score 10 centuries in ODI. And for your kind information, he outplayed Hashim Amla and Virat Kohli to those records.

His international career didn’t have the boost of a great start; but then, you have to admit it, every youngster feels the gruelling pressure in his early days. But the special thing which de Cock relished was how he managed to keep his head high and proved his worth to ensure all the hype around him.

He scored three consecutive hundreds against India back in 2013 and emerged as the youngest player to reach that amazing feat. You will be surprised to know not even Sachin Tendulkar, nor Hasim Amla, nor AB de Villiers or Virat Kohli had scored 4 centuries before turning 21, but de Kock managed to do that as well, again emerging as the youngest to achieve that feat.

But unlike other young players who display their gimps of talent for a short period of time and then rest on their laurels, de Kock was completely different and kept on improving day by day. Just before the T20 fever began, he scored four centuries in 6 ODI innings. Yes, FOUR, which included 2 centuries in India and 2 at home.

Quinton de Kock’s career

	Match	innings	runs	Highestscore	average	Strike- rate	100	50
Tests	8	12	407	129*	45.22	66.17	1	2
ODIs	57	57	2319	138*	42.94	91.66	10	5
T20Is	29	29	742	52	29.68	128.37	0	1

His credibility to perform in any sort of conditions is also proved by the unique fact that he has the equal amount of centuries at home and away. His career average at the moment stands for 42.94 with a strike rate of 91.66!

To be fair in Tests, he hasn’t got that many opportunities, yet has scored one century and two half-centuries in 8 matches. Considering his batting position (No.6 or 7) for the Proteas in the Test, the average of 45.22 is certainly more than good enough. Just consider if he gets the chance at the top order, what all the destruction he can cause. An unthinkable one!

In T20 Internationals, his record may not look exceptionally good, but then, everybody knows facts don’t tell the whole story always. Just ignore his first 6 innings, and you can see he has been absolutely consistent. Despite not scoring any century, he has been really good. Having scored 40-plus innings 11 times from 29 innings refers to the consistency he possesses.

In the recently concluded T20 World Cup which South Africa finished with great frustration, even including AB de Villiers, Amla, Faf du Plessis; de Kock showed wonderful maturity beyond the age to score 153 runs 4 innings and even secured his place in the ‘Best XI’ of the tournament.

You can start a debate on this topic if I say many iconic figures like de Villiers, Tendulkar, Kohli, Ponting, Sangakkara, Lara were all good by the age of 23, but none was as brilliant as de Kock has been at such a very young age.

His consistency, temperament, and exceptional ability has actually overshadowed any other player at this age. Nobody can predict about what the future holds for this South African champ, but what’s absolutely sure is that de Kock is right now the best young batsman in the world. And if he keeps up the rate in which he is marching forward, there will be no such record that can be kept away from him, and even the legend tag as well!

So what do you think – is Quinton de Kock the best young batsman in the world now??