South Africa wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen announces retirement from international cricket

‌South Africa wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen has decided to call it quits from international cricket after his seven-year stint with the national side. He has decided to prioritise playing in global T20 leagues after Cricket South Africa had left him out of the list of centrally-contracted players in April earlier this year.

"It is a sad day for me as I announce that I have decided to step away from international cricket," Klassen said in a statement. "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 walks down as a modern-day white-ball specialist after debuting for the side in February 2018 and representing them in 122 matches across all formats in his seven-year international career. The wicketkeeper-batter has played 60 ODIs for the Rainbow Nation accumulating 2141 runs with four hundreds and 11 fifties at a healthy average of 43.69 and a strike rate of 117.05.

He has been belligerent as a T20 batter carving out a reputation of smashing massive sixes, especially against spinners, in his 58-match tenure with South Africa with a tally of 1000 runs at a strike rate of 141.84. Klaasen came close to winning an elusive silverware taking his side close against India in the final of the ICC T20 World Cup in 2024 with a 27-ball 52 before falling short.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad batter has played in four Tests for South Africa after making his debut against India in Ranchi in October 2019. The wicketkeeper-batter was last seen in action in South Africa’s semifinal loss to New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy, which concluded in UAE in March 2025. Klaasen will, however, actively continue playing in the global T20 leagues with the Major League Cricket and The Hundred scheduled to happen in June and August 2025, respectively.