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Heinrich Klaasen Announces Retirement From International Cricket
Follow UsKlaasen announced his retirement from international cricket at just 33 years of age, with a home ODI World Cup scheduled in two years time
Star Proteas batter Heinrich Klaasen announced his retirement from international cricket at just 33 years of age. The wicketkeeper batter, who’s known for his swashbuckling batting, announced it on his Instagram profile and said that he made the decision considering what’s best for him and his family for the future.
Notably, he was going to be a prominent feature of South Africa’s batting order in the upcoming T20 World Cup in 2026 in India, and there was also a home ODI World Cup scheduled to be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia in 2027.
Earlier, wicketkeeper batter Quinton de Kock had announced his retirement from ODI cricket right after the 2023 ODI World Cup in India and became a T20 freelancer. It is expected that Klaasen will follow suit.
“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,” Klaasen said on his Instagram profile.
“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.
“I have made great friendships and relationships that I will treasure for life. Playing for the Proteas gave me the opportunity to meet great people who changed my life, and to those people I can’t say thank you enough. My road to wearing the Proteas shirt was different than most and there were certain coaches in my career that kept believing in me - to them I will always be grateful.
“To have played with the Proteas badge on my chest was and will always be the biggest honour in my career. I look forward to spending more time with my family as this decision will allow me to do so. I will always be a big Proteas supporter and would like to thank everyone who supported me and my teammates during my career,” Klaasen added.
Klaasen had already announced his retirement from Test cricket on 8 January, 2024, after having played only four Tests. Meanwhile, he has played 60 ODIs and 58 T20Is for South Africa, where he has scored 2141 at an average of 43.69 and 1000 runs at a strike rate of 141.84, respectively.