Heinrich Klaasen's Shocking Revelation On Sudden International Retirement: "Didn't Really Care..."
Former South Africa wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen has made a sensational claim, days after announcing a shock retirement from Test cricket. Last week, Klaasen stunned the cricketing world by announcing his retirement from international cricket. Klaasen played for the Proteas in the Champions Trophy earlier this year, before being overlooked by Cricket South Africa (CSA) for a central contract. Speaking on his decision to retire, Klaasen revealed that he was in a really bad headspace and he wasn't really enjoying playing for South Africa.
"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," Wisden quoted Klaasen as saying to Rapport.
Klaasen said that he wanted to play till the 2027 ODI World Cup at least, he had a change in heart after head coach Rob Walter's resignation.
"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," he added.
Klaasen expressed his desire to spend time with his family after stepping away from international cricket.
"Now I can spend six, seven months at home. My family needs it, it's been a long four years with a lot of travel. I need a little rest," said Klaasen," he pointed out.
Klaasen's availability to play in the Major League Cricket (MLC) and The Hundred would have kept him away from the Zimbabwe-New Zealand tri-nation series and white-ball tour to Australia, which caused the negotiations with CSA to fall short, as per the Rapport report.
The batter, a father to a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, revealed that his desire to spend time with his family also contributed to his retirement: "Now I can spend six or seven months at home. My family needs it. It has been a long four years with a lot of travel. I need a little rest."
Klaasen's iconic whip-pull off the spinners made him a dangerous prospect across the formats for South Africa. He was a member of the South Africa side that featured in the recent ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023, ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024, and the ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
30 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘You expect India to be here, but same could be said of South Africa too': Pat Cummins on WTC final
Australia captain Pat Cummins has said he expected India to be in the World Test Championship final while brushing aside any notion that South Africa had an easy way to the showpiece event set to begin at Lord's from Wednesday. Having already won the 50-over World Cup and a WTC final in succession, Cummins has the opportunity to make history by becoming the first captain to win successive WTC. Defending champions Australia start as firm favourites against South Africa and Cummins when asked if he was surprised about the opponent for the final said, 'In some ways you expect India to be around. England have been quite strong at home and New Zealand always seem to get to finals. But the same case could be made for South Africa in ICC events. We just don't see a lot of them in Test cricket but it's nice and different to an Australia-India final.' Soon after South Africa qualified for the final, former England captain Michael Vaughan ridiculed their road to Lord's saying they beat a team of nobodies pointing to the fact that they didn't play Australia and England in the current WTC cycle. But Cummins chose to keep aside all of it. 'You can only beat who you come up against. Our route to the final was pretty tough but I don't blame South Africa for having a different route,' Cummins said. Coming into the final, there is a bit of unknown about how these two teams which enjoy a storied rivalry would face-off at Lord's and Cummins said he expects nothing less from South Africa. 'It's hard to say because there are so many unknowns. We haven't played them much [with their last Test series ending in an easy Australian victory at home in 2022-23] but you've got to be really well balanced to make the final. Their bowling has always stood out and it's no different now. [Keshav] Maharaj is a really solid spinner and they've always got plenty of quick bowlers who pose a challenge.' A win at Lord's would also be a high point for Australia's attack which includes the famous four of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon and Cummins. The upcoming Ashes could well turn out to be the last time all four could play and the Lord's final is certainly the first big match all the four will feature in. 'We've got quite a few players who are past their mid-30s and there seems to be a natural attrition rate into the late‑30s. If you'd asked me a year or two ago I would have said: 'It's going to be a huge change. There's a little bit to be worried about.' But we've seen Josh Inglis, Sam Konstas, [Nathan] McSweeney debut throughout [Australia's] summer. [Beau] Webster's come in plus a few others have debuted in white-ball cricket. I don't think the transition will be as jarring as we first thought,' Cummins added.
Mint
34 minutes ago
- Mint
Nicholas Pooran retires: LSG batter shocks fans with retirement at just 29, ‘This was very difficult'
Nicholas Pooran shocked fans by retiring from international cricket at just 29. Pooran played the most T20I matches for the West Indies and is also the highest run-scorer for the country in the format. 'This was very difficult, but I have thought long and hard about this,' Nicholas Pooran wrote on Instagram. 'After much thought and reflection, I've decided to announce my retirement from International Cricket. This game we love has given and will continue to give so much - joy, purpose, unforgettable memories, and a chance to represent the people of the West Indies,' Pooran continued. 'Wearing that maroon, standing for the anthem, and giving everything I had each time I stepped on the field... it's hard to put into words what that truly means to me,' he added. His exit is a big blow, especially when the team is trying to rebuild after missing the 2023 ODI World Cup. In 2023, he hit the most sixes in T20s (170). During IPL 2025, scored over 500 runs with 40 sixes, the highest this season. He didn't play Test matches and debuted in T20Is in 2016, followed by ODIs in 2019. He hasn't played an ODI since the World Cup qualification miss. Pooran also captained the team in 2022 but won only 8 out of 30 games. He stepped down after West Indies' early exit from the 2022 T20 World Cup. With the next T20 World Cup only eight months away, West Indies must now find a strong middle-order replacement. His fans expressed their frustration over his retirement. 'Whyyyy Nicky?? this is not done.. You're one of my most favorite player from WI, For the upcoming WI tour of India , I was soo excited!! But this breaks my heart,' wrote an Indian fan. 'At 29, I could never accept this as a Trinidadian and West Indian, you have so much more to give the people of the Caribbean,' came from another fan. Lucknow Super Giants bought him for ₹ 21 crore, and he proved his worth. Once the strongest contender for Orange Cap, Nicholas Pooran lost his flow as IPL 2025 progressed. He scored 524 runs in 14 matches with a massive strike rate of 196.25, his best ever in IPL. However, LSG started losing matches, and Pooran became inconsistent.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Winning WTC title will be important step to becoming one of the great Australian teams, says Nathan Lyon
Winning the ICC World Test Championship title for the second consecutive time in London will be an important step in establishing the current Australian side as one of the greatest teams of all times, feels star off-spinner Nathan Lyon. The 37-year-old Nathan Lyon is part of Andrew McDonald's squad that will take on South Africa at Lord's in the final of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle. Australia will be looking to defend the title they clinched in 2023 with a 209-run victory over India at The Oval, and Lyon is keen to build on the progress made since that triumph. 'It is important that we look at this week as a celebration piece. We've done incredibly well over the last couple of years, at home and away, and that is something that as a team, we should be really proud of," he was quoted as saying by the ICC. 'In my eyes, we're on a journey to becoming a great Australian team. We're not there yet, I'm well aware of that, but that's our goal too. "This game is another step up that ladder,' said the spin ace who took the match-winning wicket of Mohammed Siraj in Australia's win against India in 2023. Australia finished second in the league table during the 2023-25 WTC cycle, behind South Africa, having claimed 67.54 per cent of the points on offer to them. Australia were also the only side that did not lose a series in the 2023-25 cycle, winning four of the six series they played. Their percentage was only bettered by the table-topping Proteas' 69.44 per cent. Lyon has taken 56 wickets against South Africa in 18 matches and expects a fierce contest with the side captained by Temba Bavuma. 'Yes, we've been here before, but South Africa qualified first during this World Test Championship,' said Lyon who has taken 553 wickets from 136 matches since making his Test debut in 2011. 'Throughout these two years, they've done something really well to finish top, and so they deserve that home changing room leading into this game. 'It's international cricket. We're expecting an extremely hard challenge and there's going to be a lot of problems out there, but we're going to have to be good enough to solve those problems ASAP.' The presence of multiple experienced and skilled bowlers in the Australian camp like captain Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland only adds to the Australian fire-power, said Lyon. 'As a bowling squad, we are very proud of where we are currently at,' he said. 'But we're not leaving any stone unturned and we're still trying to get better as a bowling group. I feel that spurs each and every one of us on to get better." Australia last featured in a Test series in England during the 2023 Ashes — the opening assignment of the 2023-25 World Test Championship cycle — but several members of the squad have since returned to ply their trade in county cricket. Lyon turned out for Lancashire in 2024, while Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green and Beau Webster represented Glamorgan, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire, respectively, during the ongoing season. "I feel like you get a lot of understanding of how the game is played over here in these conditions, how the Dukes ball moves around and how the overhead conditions play a role," he said. "It's been amazing to have Greeny over here. I think he's played four or five games for Gloucestershire and done really well. So, hopefully, that gives him the confidence to pick things up from where he left off. "It's important, especially for the younger players, like Greeny, to come over here and play county cricket."
