Rumors going around point to Sunrisers Hyderabad not holding on to Heinrich Klaasen and letting him go to the IPL 2026 mini auction pool. For those not in the know, the IPL franchises have to send in their lists of players retained by them before November 15, and if the rumors are true, then Klaasen will not be among the players that SRH will keep for the next IPL season.
Heinrich Klaasen is likely to be one of the major releases of SRH
Sunrisers Hyderabad came out second in IPL 2024 losing to the Kolkata Knight Riders in the final match who were later on crowned as the champions. But the fortunes of SRH changed for the worse in the next season as the team led by Pat Cummins made a humiliating exit in the group stage and thus could not run for the playoffs.
The team managed to win only six out of their fourteen matches which is the reason they will probably take the risk of changing their players’ lineup in order to have a better IPL 2026 season. On the other hand, Heinrich Klaasen did not have a season to be remembered but he surely did not have a season to be forgotten either. The energetic South African player scored 487 runs in thirteen innings with a very good average of 44.27 and a fantastic strike rate of 172.70.
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But then he had a period with no runs in the entire Major League Cricket and The Hundred where he scored only 293 runs in both events with a poor average of 19.53. Thus, his losing form at bat may be one of the important aspects why SRH is thinking of letting go of Heinrich Klaasen.
As per The Times of India (TOI), the whopping budget of INR 23 Crores of Klaasen is the major factor from why SRH is thinking of putting the batter in the IPL 2026 auction pool. Besides, the report has claimed that even after letting go of Klaasen, the Orange Army may still try to buy him back for about 15 Crores, which is a lower price.
“Strong signals are coming up and it might be a wise move from SRH. Coming to the auction with more Rs 23 crore gives them a good chance to cover the critical areas – build up a powerful bowling attack and get hold on the middle-order batting. They may even have a right to bid for getting the South African back (for) around Rs 15 crore and the remaining amount can be used for more quality shopping,” a source was cited by TOI.
In total, Klaasen has been part of 42 matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad where he has made 1414 runs at a stunning average of 44.19 and a strike rate of 173.50. Should SRH let him go, the South African batsman is certain to be the most sought-after player in the IPL mini auction.
