Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) IPL 2025 campaign has been forgettable thus far, with only two victories in eight games, and each defeat is eroding their chances of making the playoffs. Heinrich Klaasen, their star batsman, has consistently saved the side from top-order collapses by scoring those runs late in the innings.
The South African batsman-wicketkeeper has been SRH’s only batsman, but he still bats too low in the order, which former England cricketer Nick Knight feels has to be fixed right away.
Klaasen’s 71 off 44 against the Mumbai Indians (MI), where he entered at No. 5 with SRH struggling at 13 for 3, prompted Knight to make his admission. When Klaasen and Impact Player Abhinav Manohar stitched a 99-run partnership to raise SRH’s total to 143/8, they were 35 for 5 in the ninth over, despite the early collapse.
“others of us who have watched him perform over the years and others who are watching [know] that’s what he can do and more. He simply requires a chance to do it more frequently. He is, in my opinion, batting much too low in that lineup. On the Time Out show, Nick Knight stated, “Get him out there for six overs [or] a tick over.”
At a strike rate of 159.65 and an average of 40.14, the right-hander has amassed 281 runs from eight innings, placing him just outside the Orange Cap top 10. Against the Punjab Kings, he scored an undefeated 21—his lowest score of the season.
Knight’s fellow panellist Varun Aaron, meanwhile, commended Heinrich Klaasen skills as well.
“The bowler doesn’t get anything before they can bowl because of how motionless he is [at the crease].” It almost appears as though he is not attempting to overhit anything because he is simply motionless and hands through the ball. They can no longer doubt themselves. Bazball, or the cricketing style used by SRH, has produced results for them in the previous season. They returned to the finals last year after finishing eighth and tenth the two years prior. As a result, they have seen results. Aaron stated, “This year, it hasn’t worked out.”
According to head coach Daniel Vettori, who discussed Klaasen’s efforts, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, SRH’s openers, will keep playing energetically up front.
“After the powerplay, it’s challenging to [evaluate the par score and play appropriately] when you’re 24 for 4. SRH head coach Daniel Vettori stated at the press conference that Klaasen and Abhinav had a great partnership and took some responsibility to try to score, but it wasn’t enough.
India
