Heinrich Klaasen (born 30 July 1991) is a South African

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er who plays for the

South African national cricket team The South Africa national cricket team, also known as the Proteas, represents South Africa in men's international cricket and is administered by Cricket South Africa (CSA). South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council (I ...

. He was included in the Northerns cricket team for the 2015 Africa T20 Cup. In February 2021, Klaasen captained South Africa for the first time in a T20I match.

Domestic and T20 career

In August 2017, Klaasen was named in Nelson Mandela Bay Stars' squad for the first season of the

T20 Global League The Mzansi Super League (MSL) was a Twenty20 cricket (T20) franchise league held in South Africa. The competition was established in 2018 by Cricket South Africa (CSA) as a replacement for the failed T20 Global League, but only two editions wer ...

. However, in October 2017,

Cricket South Africa Cricket South Africa (CSA) is the governing body for both professional and amateur cricket in South Africa. In 1991, the separate South African Cricket Union and the South African Cricket Board merged to form the United Cricket Board of South Afr ...

initially postponed the tournament until November 2018, with it being cancelled soon after. On 2 April 2018, Klaasen joined the

Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 franchise cricket league of India. It is annually contested by ten teams based out of seven Indian cities and three Indian states. The leagu ...

side

Rajasthan Royals Rajasthan Royals (often abbreviated as RR) are a franchise cricket team based in Jaipur, Rajasthan, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Founded in 2008 as one of the initial eight IPL franchises, the team is based at the Sawai Ma ...

replacing

Steve Smith Stephen, Steve, Stevie, or Steven Smith may refer to: Academics * Steve Smith (political scientist) (born 1952), British international relations theorist and senior university manager * Stephen Smith (journalist) (born 1956), American journalist, ...

. In June 2018, Klaasen was named in the squad for the

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( grc, οἱ Τῑτᾶνες, ''hoi Tītânes'', , ''ho Tītân'') were the pre-Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (Sky) and Gai ...

team for the 2018–19 season. In October 2018, he was named in

Durban Heat Durban Heat were a franchise team of the South African Mzansi Super League (MSL) Twenty20 cricket tournament. The team were based at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground in Durban. Durban Heat played in the first two editions of the MLS in 2018 and 2019, ...

's squad for the first edition of the Mzansi Super League T20 tournament. In December 2018, Klaasen was bought by the

Royal Challengers Bangalore Royal Challengers Bangalore (often abbreviated as RCB) are a franchise cricket team based in Bangalore, Karnataka, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). It was founded in 2008 by United Spirits and named after the company's liquor ...

in the player auction for the 2019 Indian Premier League. In June 2019, he was selected to play for the Toronto Nationals franchise team in the

2019 Global T20 Canada The 2019 Global T20 Canada was the second edition of the Global T20 Canada, a 20-over professional cricket tournament, played at the CAA Centre, Brampton, Ontario. It started on 25 July 2019, and concluded with the final on 11 August 2019. It ...

tournament. In July 2019, he was selected to play for the Glasgow Giants in the inaugural edition of the

Euro T20 Slam The Euro T20 Slam is a planned professional Twenty20 cricket league. The first edition of the tournament was initially scheduled to start in August 2019, with matches to be held in Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands. It's launch has been post ...

cricket tournament. However, the following month the tournament was cancelled. In September 2019, Klaasen was named in the squad for the Tshwane Spartans team for the 2019 Mzansi Super League tournament. He was released by the Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of the 2020 IPL auction. Shukri Conrad, a coach at

's National Academy, stated that Klaasen could become South Africa's equivalent of MS Dhoni. In September 2015, he said, "Heinrich stays very calm in the situation. He stays in the moment. There’s very much a ‘poor man’s MS Dhoni’ about him. There are really no sideshows to his game and really takes the game to the opposition. He doesn't wait for the game to come to him and that is what I like most about him. He is as tough as they come." In April 2021, Klaasen was named in Northerns' squad, ahead of the 2021–22 cricket season in South Africa. He was bought by

Sunrisers Hyderabad Sunrisers Hyderabad (stylised as SunRisers Hyderabad, SRH) are a franchise cricket team based in Hyderabad, Telangana, India, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is owned by Kalanithi Maran of the SUN Group and was ...

to play in the 2023 Indian Premier League. On February 5, 2023, Klaasen scored the second century in SA20 history, scoring 104* off 44 balls while batting for Durban's Super Giants in a match aginst the Pretoria Capitals

International career

In February 2017, Klaasen was named in South Africa's

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

squad for their series against New Zealand, but did not play. In February 2018, Klaasen was added to South Africa's One Day International (ODI) squad for their series against India, replacing an injured Quinton de Kock. He made his ODI debut against

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

on 7 February 2018. He won his first international

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

award in his second ODI, in the fourth ODI of the home series against India, with a match-winning 43 runs off 27 balls. In the same month, Klaasen was named in the South Africa

Twenty20 International A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. The matches have top-class status and are the ...

(T20I) squad, also for their series against India. He made his T20I debut for South Africa against India on 18 February 2018. On 21 February, Klaasen scored his maiden T20I fifty in the second T20I against India which South Africa won by 6 wickets, he was also awarded the man of the match for his 69 runs from 30 balls, which included 3 fours and 7 sixes. In February 2018, Klaasen was named in South Africa's

squad for their series against Australia, but did not play. In August 2019, he was added to South Africa's Test squad for their series against India, replacing the injured Rudi Second. He made his Test debut for South Africa, against India, on 19 October 2019. On 29 February 2020, Klaasen scored his first century in an ODI match, making an unbeaten 123 against Australia. In January 2021, Klaasen was named to captain the South Africa T20I squad for their away series against Pakistan. In April 2021, Klaasen was again named as South Africa's T20I captain, this time for their home series against Pakistan, after

Temba Bavuma Temba Bavuma (born 17 May 1990) is a South African international cricketer who currently is the captain of the South African cricket team in white-ball cricket. He also vice-captains South Africa in Test cricket. He is a right-handed batter a ...

was ruled out due to an injury. In September 2021, Klaasen was named in the South Africa squad for the

2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup The 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup was the seventh ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament, with the matches played in the United Arab Emirates and Oman from 17 October to 14 November 2021. The West Indies were the defending champions, but were eventu ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Klaasen, Heinrich 1991 births Living people South African cricketers South Africa Test cricketers South Africa One Day International cricketers South Africa Twenty20 International cricketers Durban Heat cricketers Northerns cricketers Cricketers from Pretoria Rajasthan Royals cricketers Royal Challengers Bangalore cricketers Tshwane Spartans cricketers Wicket-keepers