Didn't Really Care Whether South Africa Won Or Not: Heinrich Klaasen

Earlier this month, Heinrich Klaasen shocked the world when he announced his retirement from international cricket at the age of 33. The dynamic middle-order batter from South Africa said he was at a place where he didn’t care how many runs he scored or whether his team won or not.

“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, reported 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 featured in four Tests, 60 ODIs and 58 T20Is for the Proteas, scoring more than 3200 runs. He hit four centuries and 15 fifties for South Africa. With the 2026 T20 World Cup and the 2027 ODI World Cup on the horizon, the Proteas will surely miss his batting.

Klaasen was in pretty decent form for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, slamming 487 runs across 13 innings at an average of 44.27 and a strike rate of 172.69.