Heinrich Klaasen is a South African cricketer who plays for the Titans in domestic cricket and for the South African national team in all three formats of the game. He is a right-handed wicket-keeper batsman who is known for his aggressive batting style.
Heinrich Klaasen was born on 28 July 1991 in Pretoria, South Africa. He grew up in a sporting family, with his father being a former rugby player and his mother being a former netball player. Klaasen himself was a talented rugby player in his youth, but he switched to cricket at the age of 13.
Klaasen is married to his wife, Nicolene, and they have two children together. He is also a devout Christian and regularly attends church.
Klaasen started his cricket career playing for the Titans youth teams. He made his first-class debut for the Titans in the 2012/13 season and his List A debut in the 2013/14 season.
Klaasen quickly established himself as one of the most promising young wicket-keeper batsmen in South Africa. He scored over 1,000 runs in each of his first two first-class seasons and was named the Titans' Player of the Season in 2013/14.
Klaasen made his international debut for South Africa in a T20I match against England in December 2015. He made his ODI debut against the same opposition in January 2016 and his Test debut against Australia in March 2018.
Klaasen has played 70 ODIs for South Africa, scoring 1,837 runs at an average of 30.62 and a strike rate of 102.16. He has also taken 69 catches and effected 17 stumpings.
Klaasen's best ODI performance came against India in January 2021, when he scored 129 runs off 92 balls. He was also part of the South African team that won the 2019 Cricket World Cup.
Klaasen has played 46 T20Is for South Africa, scoring 786 runs at an average of 26.20 and a strike rate of 142.50. He has also taken 34 catches and effected 14 stumpings.
Klaasen's best T20I performance came against Sri Lanka in January 2021, when he scored 97 runs off 48 balls. He was also part of the South African team that won the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
Klaasen has played 23 Tests for South Africa, scoring 1,180 runs at an average of 39.33 and a strike rate of 56.84. He has also taken 126 catches and effected 11 stumpings.
Klaasen's best Test performance came against England in January 2021, when he scored 129 runs off 102 balls. He was also part of the South African team that won the 2021 Test series against England.
Klaasen is the only South African wicket-keeper batsman to score a century in all three formats of international cricket. He is also the fastest South African wicket-keeper batsman to reach 1,000 runs in both ODIs and T20Is. Klaasen was named the South African Cricketer of the Year in 2021. Awards and Honors
South African Cricketer of the Year (2021) Cricket South Africa T20I Player of the Year (2021) Cricket South Africa ODI Player of the Year (2021) Cricket South Africa Test Player of the Year (2021) Captaincy Stints
Klaasen has captained the Titans in both domestic first-class and List A cricket. He has also captained the South African T20I team on a few occasions.
Controversies
Klaasen has been involved in a few controversies during his career. In 2017, he was fined for using abusive language on the field. In 2020, he was suspended from international cricket for one match for failing to comply with COVID-19 protocols.
Heinrich Klaasen is one of the best wicket-keeper batsmen in the world today. He is an aggressive batsman who is capable of scoring big