South Africa wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen’s international career might as well be over as he was not named in the recently announced 18-player list of centrally contracted players by Cricket South Africa (CSA).
Notably, Klaasen had retired from Test cricket last year in January and only had a white-ball contract with South Africa. However, it is now understood that he is prioritising his T20 franchise cricket career.
Despite the exclusion, there might still be an outside hope to see him back, especially with the 2026 T20 World Cup and the 2027 ODI World Cup lined up next. Notably, CSA previously haven’t been very accepting of players preferring T20 cricket in the instances of AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, amongst others.
CSA said in a statement that “Discussions regarding his future are ongoing and a final decision will be made in due course.”
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David Miller, who previously held a white-ball-only contract and Rassie van der Dussen have agreed to hybrid deals, enabling them to take part in select bilateral tours and ICC tournaments.
However, both Miller and Heinrich Klaasen are committed to playing in The Hundred, which overlaps with South Africa’s white-ball series in Australia scheduled between August 10 and 24.
The list of contracted players also features Test and ODI captain Temba Bavuma and T20I skipper Aiden Markram, along with the team’s primary pace attack. Among those retained are Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Gerald Coetzee, Marco Jansen, and spinner Keshav Maharaj.
The 18-member list also has three newly contracted players which include the likes of pacer Lizaad Williams, who has been sidelined following knee surgery, all-rounder Senuran Muthusamy, and 18-year-old left-arm fast bowler Kwena Maphaka, who earns his first national contract.
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