Earlier in the month, South African cricketer Heinrich Klaasen announced his retirement from the white-ball format after hanging up his boots in 2023. However, his retirement, similar to red-ball cricket, did come as a bit of a surprise in this format of the game. According to Klaasen himself, he did have plans to participate in the 2027 World Cup, but the sudden resignation of white-ball coach Rob Walter has put him in a dilemma.
“I felt for a long time that I didn’t really care about any of my performances and whether the team won or not. That’s the wrong place to be. I had a long conversation with Rob [Walter] before the Champions Trophy, and I told him I didn’t feel good in my heart about what was going on. I wasn’t enjoying it that much,” said Klaasen to Raport as quoted by Wisden.
“We talked nicely, we planned everything nicely up to and including the World Cup in 2027. So when he finished as coach and the [contract] negotiations [with CSA] didn’t go as planned, it made my decision a lot easier,” Klaasen added.
Retirement note
Klaasen, who was recently in action for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2025 season, wrote on Instagram: “It is a sad day for me as I announce that I have decided to step away from international cricket. It took me a long time to decide what’s best for me and my family for the future. It was truly a very difficult decision but also one that I have absolute peace with.”
“From the first day, it was the biggest privilege representing my country and it was everything that I have worked for and dreamed about as a young boy,” the 33-year-old Klaasen added.
The hard-hitting wicketkeeper-batter represented South Africa in all three formats across 102 appearances – 4 Tests, 60 ODIs and 58 T20Is. Aggregating all four of his international centuries in ODIs, Klaasen piled up 3145 runs since his debut in 2018.
