Klaasen announces retirement from international cricket

Klaasen Announces Retirement from International Cricket

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Heinrich Klaasen, South Africa's wicketkeeper-batter, has announced his international retirement, stepping away from white-ball formats, having ended his red-ball career in 2024.

"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."

"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 that 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."

The 33-year-old Klaasen has finished his career with 3000-plus runs in both formats combined. He got 2141 runs in 60 ODIs, at an average of 43.69 and a strike rate of 117.05, including 4 hundreds and 11 fifties with a highest of 174 against Australia in 2023. In T20Is, he scored 1000 runs at an average of 23.25 and a strike rate of 141.84, with five half-centuries, including a highest of 81 against India in 2022.

Enoch Nkwe, the director of the national teams and high performance, said: "Heinrich has been a true match-winner for South Africa. He was a player capable of changing the course of a game in a matter of overs. His commitment and impact in the white-ball formats have been immense, and we thank him for his outstanding service to South African cricket."