‘I did not really care about my performances’ – Heinrich Klaasen opens up on retirement decision

South African cricketer Heinrich Klaasen announced his retirement from international cricket in June. Similarly, his choice to retire from red-ball cricket and leave the white-ball game surprised many.

Klaasen mentioned that he had originally intended to compete in the 2027 World Cup. However, Rob Walter’s recent resignation as white-ball coach has put him in a difficult position. He also acknowledged that he no longer enjoyed the game, whether it was his performance or the team’s results.

“For a long time, I didn’t care about my performance or the team’s outcome.” That is the worst place to be. I had a long talk with Rob [Walter] before the Champions Trophy, and I told him I wasn’t feeling good about what was going on. According to Wisden, Klaasen told Raport, “I wasn’t enjoying it that much.”

“We spoke nicely, and we arranged everything up to and including the World Cup in 2027. So, when he finished as coach and the [contract] negotiations [with CSA] did not proceed as expected, it made my decision much easier,” he said.

Heinrich Klaasen acknowledged in his retirement letter that it was a difficult day for him and that the choice had taken a long time to come.

“It is a sad day for me to announce that I have decided to leave international cricket. It took me a long time to figure out what was best for myself and my family in the future. It was certainly a very difficult decision, but one that I have complete peace with. “From the first day, it was the biggest privilege representing my country, and it was everything that I had worked for and dreamed about as a young boy,” the 33-year-old wrote on Instagram.

The wicketkeeper-batsman played for South Africa in all three formats, making 102 appearances in four Tests, 60 One-Day Internationals, and 58 Twenty20 Internationals. Heinrich Klaasen has scored 3,145 runs since his debut in 2018, with all four of his international hundreds coming in ODIs.