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Explained: Why Will South Africa Miss Heinrich Klaasen vs Afghanistan In Champions Trophy?

Aashay Chopade

Heinrich Klaasen is not playing against Afghanistan (Source:@ICC/X.com)Heinrich Klaasen is not playing against Afghanistan (Source:@ICC/X.com)

Heinrich Klaasen is one of the most improved cricketer in the last couple of years and is an important asset for South Africa in their quest to win Champions Trophy 2025. However, the batter is not part of South Africa's XI in their opening game against Afghanistan due to the discomfort in his left elbow and it could hamper their chances of starting off the tournament with a win.

How Heinrich Klaasen Has Dominated Spinners In His ODI Career?

The wicketkepeer batter is known for his power-hitting and though he can smash the pacers all over the park, his prowess against spinners is the most crucial feature of his game. The right-handed batter is considered as the best spinner of the spin in the South African line-up and he has shown time and again by delivering against best of the tweakers.

In the 45 ODI innings where he has batted against spinners, the batter has scored 870 runs off just 703 balls with an average of 43.5 and strike-rate of 123.8. He has got out 20 times and has dominated spinners in T20 cricket as well.

This feature of his batting makes him even more important against a team like Afghanistan that relies heavily on their spinners. They have three quality spinners in the form of Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmed and Mohammad Nabi and as most of the South African players tend to struggle against spin, they could struggle if the Afghan spin-trio choke them in the middle overs.

It was evident in the three-match ODI series between the two sides in UAE where South Africa struggled big time against Afghan spinners and lost the series by a margin of 2-1.

Heinrich Klaasen Against Spinners in ODIs

Criterion
Data
Innings
45
Runs870
Balls703
Average43.5
Strike-Rate123.8

Also, Heinrich Klaasen has hit fifties in his last four ODI innings which shows the kind of form he is in and also has a fifty to his name in the only game he has played in Pakistan. Overall, Heinrich Klaasen has 2074 runs at an average of 44.12 in 54 ODI innings and has scored his runs at a stunning strike-rate of 117.44 with four hundreds and 10 fifties. Thus, his prowess against spin, current form and overall ODI record makes him an asset that South Africa will badly miss against Afghanistan.