Proteas coach Shukri Conrad has played down suggestions of a rift between himself and Heinrich Klaasen.
The big-hitting batsman on Monday announced his retirement from white-ball international cricket, having already stepped away from the red-ball game after being dropped by Conrad after the home West Indies series in 2023.
“Obviously, if you lose a player of the calibre of Heinrich Klaasen, you’d be disappointed,” Conrad told the media at South Africa’s warm-up match against Zimbabwe in Arundel. “But if that’s the narrative that you want to espouse, that I’m the common factor, then be my guest.
“I haven’t even had a conversation with Heinrich. He turned down the contract long before I was even a thought in the white-ball space. It’s really unfortunate that we lose a player of his calibre. He’s one of the best in the world, if not the best, among the white ball middle-order batters.”
Upon his appointment as all-format Proteas coach on 9 May, Conrad said CSA-contracted Proteas would no longer be allowed to skip white-ball series to play T20 franchise cricket.
Under former coach Rob Walter, the Proteas often fielded understrength teams in bilateral series, with players putting lucrative franchise deals ahead of the national team.
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“I’d be disappointed if it [Klaasen retiring to favour leagues] was, because we didn’t have a conversation,” Conrad said. “I think if guys pre-signed deals prior to me coming on board, I certainly wasn’t going to come in there and say, ‘Well, you have got to withdraw from whatever you pre-signed.’ So without us ever having a conversation, I’d be disappointed if that was why he retired.
“From the little bit I know, I know Heinrich from way back when he was at the academy, kept in the academy sides when I was the coach. I’d be very surprised if he was as short-sighted as that. I think he’s obviously got really good reasons for why he’s retired, and we’ve got to respect that.”
