Former South Africa cricket team star Heinrich Klaasen has opened up on his decision to abruptly retire from international cricket. The keeper-batter took the fans by surprise after announcing his decision to step away from T20Is and ODIs on June 2. Now, Klaasen has spilled the beans on his decision and has said that it was due to two main reasons – coach and his contract.
Klaasen explains decision to retire
Speaking to Rapport, Klaasen revealed that he had had a conversation with ex-coach Rob Walters before the Champions Trophy where he had told him that he wasn’t feeling good. He also said that the duo had planned al the way till the 2027 World Cup. However, Klaasen decided to retire after he was excluded from CSA’s central contracts list and when Rob’s negotiations with the board had come to a dead end.
“I had a long conversation with Rob 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. We talked nicely, we planned everything nicely up to and including the World Cup in 2027. So when he finished as coach and the negotiations [with CSA over contracts] didn’t go as planned, it made my decision a lot easier,” Klaasen said.
He captained the Proteas in 9 T20Is. While he wasn’t a big contributor to Test cricket, he was an integral part of the ODI and T20I setup. In the 50-over format, he amassed 2141 runs to his name, averaging 43.69 from 60 matches, In 58 T20Is, he managed to score 1000 runs.
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