South Africa cricketer Heinrich Klaasen shocked the cricketing fraternity today by announcing his retirement from international cricket at the age of just 33. His career was just taking off at the highest level, but he will remain active only in T20 leagues now and not represent South Africa.
Klaasen played four Tests, 60 ODIs, and 58 T20Is for South Africa after making his debut in February 2018. He predominantly played white-ball cricket for his country and was known for his aggressive batting right through his career. He scored 2141 runs in 56 ODI innings at an average of 43.69 and a strike rate of 117.05 with four centuries and 11 fifties to his name. In the shortest format, Klaasen scored exactly 1000 runs in 53 innings at a strike rate of 141.84 with five fifties.
The 33-year-old played Tests for the first time in 2019 and featured in only three more matches, mustering only 104 runs in eight innings. His last appearance in the format came in March 2023 against the West Indies. In the T20 leagues, Klaasen plays in the IPL, SA20, Major League Cricket, The Hundred, and Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
Klaasen will now continue featuring in all these T20 leagues for the rest of his career and will be keen on continuing his good run in the shortest format. As for now, he has played 247 T20 matches and scored 5634 runs in 226 innings at an average of 32.19 and a strike rate of 151.12 with three centuries and 34 fifties to his credit.
Heinrich Klaasen international cricket stats:
| Matches | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | Highest Score | 50s/100s | 4s/6s | |
| Tests | 4 | 104 | 13 | 45.21 | 35 | 0/0 | 11/0 |
| ODIs | 60 | 2141 | 43.69 | 117.05 | 174 | 11/4 | 200/71 |
| T20Is | 58 | 1000 | 23.25 | 141.84 | 81 | 5/0 | 72/52 |