South Africa batter Heinrich Klaasen announces retirement from Test cricket

Amidst the talk around T20 taking precendence over Test cricket in South Africa, swashbuckling batter Heinrich Klaasen has announced his retirement from the longest format of the game.

Klaasen, who was among the top run getters for South Africa in last year’s ODI World Cup, wasn’t a regular in the red ball setup.

“After a few sleepless nights wondering if I am making the right decision, I have decided to retire from red-ball cricket. It’s a difficult decision that I have made because it is by far my favourite format of the game,” he said in a statement. “The battles that I faced on and off the field have made me the cricketer I am today. It has been a great journey and I am glad I could have represented my country. My baggy Test cap is the most precious cap I have ever been handed.”

Having made his debut in 2019, the 32-year-old only had four Test matches under his belt. It was only last February though that the Proteas Test coach Shukri Conrad had made known that as a keeper batter, he preferred having Klaasen in the squad instead of Paul Verreynne, regarding the former as a ‘better batter’. However, on the tour of the West Indies, Klaasen notched up a mere 56 runs from four innings.

Having lost to India in Cape Town last week, South Africa are slated to play seven more Test matches in 2024 – three of which are against New Zealand next month.

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The Proteas squad announcement for the three-match series starting February 4 has been the talk of the cricket fraternity, with the visitors having named as many as seven debutants in their squad while most of their red-ball A-listers feature in the upcoming SA20 League.

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