Heinrich Klaasen is a key cog in the wheel for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and knows very well that he must be at his best for the sake of his team, although he has retired from international cricket. Playing at a new role of number 4 and 5 for the franchise in IPL 2026, the former Proteas star has arguably been one of the most consistent batters for the team thus far, registering scores of 31, 52 and 62. While Klaasen is still got it despite retiring from all forms of international cricket, he has revealed how he has managed to stay on top of his game and make improvements while also making a bold but admisibble comment on MS Dhoni’s impact for CSK.
Not a regular gym but Klaasen attends EyeGym
Speaking to Sportstar in an interview, Klaasen admitted that while international cricket was a huge miss for him, he has been working with an eye doctor to sharpen his decision making skills. He said that it allows him to ensure that his reaction times are getting better and the ability to make decisions under pressure have also improved. For the record, Klaasen has 1625 runs from 52 IPL matches so far and has been an integral part of SRH for the last four seasons. He announced his retirement from international cricket in June 2025.
“I’ve been working with a lady in Cape Town called Sherylle, who’s an eye doctor. We call it an EyeGym. It just helps you make a lot of decisions under pressure and in a certain amount of time. That has been working for me over the last year in making sure that my decision-making and reaction times are good,” Klaasen revealed.
What about the MS Dhoni factor?
SRH are scheduled to lock horns with five-time champions Chennai Super Kings on April 18, with the latter potentially missing out on the services of veteran MS Dhoni. The former CSK captain is currently under rehab and out of action as he is recovering from a calf strain. Commenting on the likely absence of MSD from the game, Klaasen opined that Dhoni hasn’t managed to create a lot of impact with the bat over the last year and that it was only his leadership quality that made an impact for CSK.
“I think the crowd will be a little bit quieter. Normally when he walks onto the ground, you can’t hear anything around you. So that would be a nice addition to playing them. I don’t think he had such a big impact except for his leadership over the last year. He’d normally just face 10 balls and then try to make an impact,” Klaasen added.
True to his words, Dhoni hasn’t been at his best over the last few seasons. As a batter, he has struggled with a knee injury which forced him to bat as low as 8 or 9 in the previous season. Both the management and the star have idirectly admitted that he cannot face many deliveries and hence can only create a limited impact.
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