'Strange things happen in life' - de Kock is done with ODIs, or is he?

Quinton de Kock is adamant that he will not go back on his decision to call time on his ODI career after this World Cup despite leading the run chart at this stage and closing in on the record for most centuries in an edition of the tournament, and appearing to be in the form of his life. Or is he?

"I'm set on my decision. It's the end of my 50-over career. There have been one or two words said to me about it but I don't think it's going to happen," he said in Kolkata as South Africa prepared to play table-toppers India at the weekend.

But when pushed on the issue, de Kock indicated that he might be convinced to come back, with South Africa's home World Cup in 2027 on the horizon. "At this point, I don't foresee it happening. But, you never know. Strange things happen in life. It could be a possibility but I don't think so," he said. "There's some good youngsters coming through anyway who will probably take my space as soon as I leave here and they will have to deal with national duties and that's that. I don't think I will be coming through, but you never know."

In his choice of words, two stood out. "You never know", which could be the mantra by which de Kock has played his entire career, and "deal with national duties", which may explain more clearly than anything else why he is stepping away.

De Kock's incredible skill, instinctive choice of shots, and ability to read match situations make him one of the standout batters of his generation - you never really know what he'll do next, but everything else that comes with representing the national team has been a burden. De Kock was a reluctant captain and has even become a reluctant player. And that's not a harsh assessment.

It's an open secret that de Kock prefers fishing and wildlife to cricket, but there's something about him at this tournament that seems different and not just from an outsider's perspective. His team-mates have experienced it too.

"It's been so good to have Quinny with us. He has a determination about him that I haven't seen in a very long time. He's ploughing back into the team in all aspects, in the bowling meetings, in the batting meetings, being one of our senior guys. The guys really feed off him," Rassie van der Dussen, who shared a 200-run stand with de Kock against New Zealand, said after that game. "He's been brilliant in the last few weeks. He's not all talky - he does it out on the field. And I think that's really inspirational for us as a team and the rest of the guys on the team to see a guy like that really come up with the goods."

De Kock admitted that he is putting more into this campaign, "because it's my last one so I am just trying to give it my all". But also that he is trying to leave a legacy of sorts. "I am just trying to help out everyone where I can," he said. "Guys are going through experiences for the first time which I have been through before so I am just trying to help the guys."

Away from what the rest of us can see, de Kock is offering advice, and on the field too. He is the decision-maker for reviews (not surprising as it's the domain of the wicketkeeper) and he usually gets them right. And, apart from being the leading run-scorer, he is also leading the way in his approach. He no longer just hits out at everything he can, there is a consideration to his time at the crease and an acceptance that bedding in before the big bash, so to speak, is a better idea.

And that's also the point of the arc de Kock's career is on now. After this World Cup, he will miss South Africa's T20Is against India to play in the Big Bash League. In the past, that would have made him ineligible for the T20 side to play in next year's World Cup - the India matches are South Africa's only competitive fixtures before then - but a changing cricket landscape necessitates a flexible selection policy.

Whether de Kock actually gets to the tournament or not is unknown because the timing of his retirements have been surprising. There's a sense that if South Africa go all the way here, de Kock might see that as his moment to bow out completely, because he would have achieved one of the things he holds far dearer than he has ever let on: a World Cup trophy.

Now, at what could be the end, his hunger for the ultimate prize is rumbling louder and louder as he proves himself to be not just the best at what he does but the ultimate team player. Asked if personal milestones such as becoming the highest run-scorer at World Cups and beating Rohit Sharma's record of five hundreds at a World Cup - after equalling Kumar Sangakkara with four - are on his mind, de Kock answered in a way we would have expected. "I've always enjoyed Sanga growing up and playing with him. And he is one of my good friends now as well but I wouldn't say I wanted to be like him, I want to be like myself," he said. "I'd rather win the World Cup and score no runs, than score all the runs and not win the World Cup."