Heinrich Klaasen has explained his decision to retire from international cricket.
The 33-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman announced on Monday that he would step away from the white-ball formats, having already left the red-ball game in 2024.
Klaasen told Rapport that he had planned to retire from international cricket after the 2027 ODI World Cup on home soil, but Rob Walter’s resignation as Proteas white-ball coach had changed things.
“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 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 [contract] negotiations [between Klaasen and CSA] didn’t go as planned, it made my decision a lot easier.”
Klaasen was not among the list of CSA-contracted players named on 7 April as he wanted to play in the world’s four biggest T20 leagues – the IPL, the SA20, The Hundred (in England) and MLC (in the USA).
According to Rapport, his participation in The Hundred was a sticking point with CSA as he would have missed a Proteas series against Australia.
Upon being named all-format coach last month, Shukri Conrad said CSA-contracted Proteas would no longer be allowed to skip white-ball series to play T20 franchise cricket.
MORE: Conrad never spoke with Klaasen
Klaasen, who has a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Laya, with wife Soné, said his personal situation had also played a part in his decision to say goodbye to the Proteas.
“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.”
Photo: Chris Hyde/ICC/Getty Images
