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"Play More T20Is, Tests And Take ODIs Away": Heinrich Klaasen Speaks Out After Retirement

Rajgeeta Yadav

Heinrich Klaasen Speaks Out After Retirement [Source: ICC/X.com]Heinrich Klaasen Speaks Out After Retirement [Source: ICC/X.com]

Former South Africa cricketer Heinrich Klaasen shocked fans worldwide when he announced his retirement from international cricket last month after seven years. In an interview, Klaasen opened up about his decision and shared his thoughts on how international cricket should change in the coming years.

Klaasen Shares Views On the International Cricket Calendar

Klaasen, now 33, believes the cricket calendar is too crowded and that some changes are needed to help players and the sport itself. He said the International Cricket Council (ICC) should consider removing bilateral One-Day Internationals (ODIs) from the international schedule. 

According to him, this would help declutter the calendar and make room for formats that fans enjoy more, like Test matches and T20 cricket.

He explained to Cricbuzz, "I think the only change that I will make is probably take [bilateral] one-day cricket away from international cricket. Make it more Test matches for teams that don't play a lot of Test matches. Play more T20 cricket, because that's what the people want to see. You can keep your one-day World Cups, and just maybe a month before the one-day World Cup starts, you play five games for every team, just to get used to that format."

Klaasen also talked about the financial side of cricket, especially for South African players. He pointed out that players need to be looked after well so they don’t feel forced to leave international cricket to play in various leagues around the world just to earn extra money. 

"It's not a big change that you have to make in that format. It's more the international teams that you probably will struggle with. If they don't take care of the international players, they will go out and go to the leagues to make some extra cash. If you look at the Aussies and the England boys, they get looked after well, so they don't need to go around the world and go play all these leagues."

Heinrich Klaasen's Remarkable International Career

Talking about his own career, Klaasen made his ODI and T20I debuts in 2018 and quickly became one of South Africa’s most powerful white-ball players. Over 60 ODIs, he scored more than 2,000 runs at an average of almost 44. One of his highlights was a spectacular 174 against Australia in 2023, which is the second highest score by a batsman batting at number five.

Klaasen was also known for his skill against spin bowling and played 58 T20 Internationals with an impressive strike rate of 141.84. He was a key player in South Africa’s limited-overs teams until his final international match at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 semifinal against New Zealand.