Heinrich Klaasen recently called time on his international cricket career at the age of 33.
Klaasen’s initial plan was to continue playing white-ball cricket until the 2027 Cricket World Cup in South Africa.
The exit of Rob Walter as coach and appointment of Shukri Conrad to lead the white-ball side led to uncertainty in Klaasen's career plans. Despite being Proteas’ leading run-getter in ODIs since 2023, he was snubbed from the central contract list in April.
Klaasen has been a force to reckon with in T20 cricket since 2022, amassing 3,833 runs in 145 appearances for South Africa and several franchises. He scored those runs at an impressive average of 35.49 and a strike rate of 158.19, including three hundreds and 25 half-centuries.
In ODIs since 2023, Klaasen aggregated 1,345 runs in 30 matches at an average of 51.73 and a strike rate of 135.58, with three centuries and seven fifties. He had previously retired from Test cricket after featuring in four matches between 2019 and 2023.
"I felt for a long time that I did not really care about any of my performances and whether the team won or not. That is the wrong place to be," Klaasen told Rapport.
"I had a long conversation with Rob before the Champions Trophy, and I told him I did not feel good in my heart about what was going on. I was not enjoying it that much. 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] did not go as planned, it made my decision a lot easier," he added.
Klaasen's participation in Major League Cricket and The Hundred would have prevented him from featuring in the Zimbabwe-New Zealand tri-nation series and the white-ball tour to Australia. As a result, his negotiations with Cricket South Africa failed. Family considerations also played a part in his decision.
"Now I can spend six or seven months at home. My family needs it. It has been a long four years with a lot of travel. I need a little rest," said Klaasen, who has a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter.
Heinrich Klaasen represented South Africa in recent ICC tournaments, including the ODI World Cup 2023, T20 World Cup 2024, and Champions Trophy 2025.
His ODI career ended with 2,141 runs in 60 matches at an average of 43.69, including four centuries and 11 fifties. In T20Is, he scored 1,000 runs with a highest score of 81 and five half-centuries, maintaining a strike rate of 141.84.