South Africa’s Heinrich Klaasen walks after shedding his wicket in opposition to England throughout ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India, October 21, 2023. — Reuters
South Africa wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen, who made his debut in 2018, on Monday introduced his retirement from worldwide cricket.
“It is a sad day for me as I announce that I have decided to step away from international cricket,” Klaasen wrote. “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 mirrored on his worldwide journey, describing it because the achievement of a lifelong dream. “From day one, it was the biggest privilege representing my country. It was everything I had worked for and dreamed about as a young boy,” he added.
The wicketkeeper-batter, who featured in 122 internationals for the Proteas, felt gratitude in the direction of his coaches throughout his cricketing journey.
“I have made great friendships and relationships that I will treasure for life. Playing for the Proteas gave me the opportunity to meet incredible people who changed my life. I can’t thank them enough. My road to wearing the Proteas shirt was different from most, and there were certain coaches who continued to believe in me — to them, I’ll always be grateful.”
Klaasen acknowledged that the primary motive for his retirement was to spend extra time along with his household.
“I look forward to spending more time with my family, and 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 throughout my career.”
Heinrich Klaasen made his worldwide debut in 2018 throughout an ODI collection in opposition to India and went on to characterize South Africa throughout all three codecs over a seven-year profession.
ODIs proved to be his most profitable format, the place he performed 60 matches and scored 2,141 runs at a median of 43.69 and a formidable strike fee of 117.05, together with 4 centuries and 11 half-centuries.
Amongst his standout performances was a blistering 174 off simply 83 balls in opposition to Australia at Centurion in 2023 — the best particular person rating by any batter at No 5 in ODI historical past.
In T20Is, Klaasen featured in 58 matches, amassing 1,000 runs at a strike fee of 141.84, with 5 half-centuries to his title.
Klaasen had earlier retired from Exams in January 2024, having featured in 4 video games within the longest format, scoring 104 runs at a median of 13.00.
The wicketkeeper batter final performed for South Africa in March this 12 months throughout the ICC Champions Trophy semifinal in opposition to New Zealand. He was dismissed for simply three runs off seven balls, because the Proteas misplaced the match by 50 runs.
