Heinrich Klaasen, a former South African cricketer, shocked fans worldwide by retiring from international cricket last month after seven years. In an interview, Klaasen spoke about his decision and what he thinks should change in international cricket soon.
Klaasen, 33, said there are too many games in the cricket schedule. He thinks some things should change to support both the players and the game. He suggested the International Cricket Council (ICC) should consider getting rid of bilateral One-Day Internationals (ODIs) from the international schedule. He believes this would simplify the calendar and make space for formats that fans enjoy more, like Test matches and T20 cricket.
He told Cricbuzz, The only change I would suggest is to remove [bilateral] one-day cricket from the international schedule. Instead, have more Test matches for teams that don’t play many and more T20 cricket, since that’s what fans want to watch. Keep the one-day World Cups, but maybe have each team play five games a month before the World Cup to get ready for that format.
Klaasen also talked about the money side of cricket, especially for South African players. He said players need good support so they don’t have to leave international cricket and join leagues worldwide just to earn more.
It doesn’t take a big change in that format. International teams will struggle. If they don’t support the international players, they will leave and join the leagues to earn cash. Players from Australia and England are well taken care of, so they don’t need to travel the world to play in all these leagues.
About his career, Klaasen played his first ODI and T20I games in 2018 and quickly became one of South Africa’s best white-ball players. In over 60 ODIs, he scored over 2,000 runs with an average of almost 44. One of his best games was a score of 174 against Australia in 2023, which is the second-highest score by a batsman batting at number five.
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Klaasen was also known for his skill against spin bowling and played 58 T20 Internationals with a strike rate of 141.84. He was part of South Africa’s limited-overs teams until his last international game at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 semifinal against New Zealand.
