Former South African wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen confirmed that he will not return to international cricket despite calls for a comeback during IPL 2026. Klaasen also ruled out playing in the 2027 ODI World Cup, saying that he will stay away from representing South Africa again in international matches.
Klaasen retired from international cricket in June 2025 after helping South Africa reach the 2024 T20 World Cup final. The batter is currently playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2026. He scored an unbeaten 65 off 30 balls against the Mumbai Indians (MI), hitting four sixes and seven boundaries to chase 244 runs.
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen praised the aggressive batting of Klaasen. He urged Cricket South Africa (CSA) to contact Klaasen, saying the 34-year-old remains key to South Africa’s hopes of winning a World Cup at home.
“South Africa have never won a cricket world cup! There should be a phone call this morning, from the South African cricket board, to Heinrich Klaasen, to ask him if he can rejoin international cricket and be a central figure in their campaign to try and win their first ever world cup which will be in South Africa next year,” Pietersen wrote on X.
South Africa have never won a cricket world cup! There should be a phone call this morning, from the South African cricket board, to Heinrich Klaasen, to ask him if he can rejoin international cricket and be a central figure in their campaign to try and win their first ever…
— Kevin Pietersen? (@KP24) April 30, 2026No, Unfortunately Not - Heinrich Klaasen Responds to Kevin Pietersen's Remark
Speaking to Sports Today, Heinrich Klaasen responded to comeback calls by saying his focus is no longer on international cricket. Klaasen added that he is focusing on developing his professional business.
"No, unfortunately not. For me, I'm looking forward to what's a new chapter in my life and it's growing the game of cricket," Klaasen said.
I'm really looking forward to partnering up with Rotterdam, and we're really pushing hard to make this thing happen and to make sure that we run a professional business and we're looking forward to getting the community behind us and getting the right infrastructure and the right people behind us to make this a success."
Heinrich Klaasen rules out international comeback for RSA#HeinrichKlaasen #SouthAfricaCricket #nikhilNaz #virals #reels pic.twitter.com/jONm0nf3PN
— Sports Today (@SportsTodayofc) May 1, 2026I Don't Think There's a Secret - Heinrich Klaasen
Klaasen is in second place in the Orange Cap race behind Abhishek Sharma with 414 runs from 9 innings at an average of 59.14 at a strike rate of 157.41.
Klaasen said there is no secret behind his form. He compared his journey to Faf du Plessis, explaining that players must focus on off-field work and proper preparation to succeed consistently in global T20 franchise leagues after retiring from international cricket.
"I don't think there's a secret. I think it's the belief. If you look at our co-partner, Faf du Plessis, he's like old wine. The longer he plays, the better he's becoming. So, he's been dominating leagues around the world since he's retired from international cricket."
"So, it shows you that it is possible. It's just about you need to take a little bit more care off the field and what you do and how you prepare for the big leagues. It's not like you can just have a holiday and just walk into these leagues."
Also read: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi pushed for a Test call-up from Australia
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