Heinrich Klaasen

Heinrich Klaasen might not be one of those traditional players who have emerged through age-group level cricket but in an era of Quinton de Kock, Klaasen has managed to establish himself as a reserve wicketkeeper for the Protease especially in the limited-overs format. It was only after he made it to the college team that Klaasen found an interest in the game. Despite taking the longer route, Klaasen found success quite early on in his domestic career.  Having started off in a sensational fashion in the domestic circuit, Klassen piled on runs which paved way for his admission to franchise cricket. 

Klaasen made a mark with the bat when he fell just short of a double century while playing for the Titans against the Dolphins. On the back of some exceptional form with the bat, Klaasen was picked as the back-up wicket-keeper for the series in New Zealand but didn’t manage to bag his coveted Test cap. 

He was given the title ‘poor man’s Dhoni’ by South Africa’s National Academy Coach Shukri Conrad. The components which describe Klaasen are he tends to stay at the moment and has a sense of calmness just like MS Dhoni. He managed to get an opportunity to play against MS Dhoni when India toured the Rainbow Nation in 2018. In a relatively below par series for the hosts, it was Klaasen who emerged as a shining light as he bagged the Man of the Match Award in only the two matches they managed to win in the ODI and T20I series. While they lost the ODI series 5-1, they went down to the Men in Blue by a 2-1 margin in the T20I series. 

Klaasen was brought in as a replacement for Steve Smith in the 2018 IPL when he was handed a one year ban. Klaasen played 7 matches for the Rajasthan Royals but failed to make a major impact as the Royals bowed out of the tournament before the playoffs.