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South African cricketer Heinrich Klaasen said that he is not coming back to international cricket, but also admitted that he misses playing with his teammates.
Currently playing for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 edition, Klaasen helped his team secure their first victory of the tournament with a 35-ball 52 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Thursday. In a video uploaded by IPL on social media, Klaasen, who retired from all international cricket in 2025, talks to SRH teammate Nitish Kumar Reddy about whether or not he will come out of retirement. Klaasen said that he briefly considered returning to international cricket but ultimately decided against it, mainly due to family priorities. Although he missed playing with his teammates and felt some FOMO (fear of missing out) during the 2026 T20 World Cup, he confirmed he will not return. "It was a thought for about two weeks. And then we decided against it. Obviously, my family plays a big role in it. I've missed my friends when they did extremely well in the World Cup. But I had a little bit more FOMO, and I wanted to come back. I spoke to Aiden (Markram), actually. He said if he's capped, then I will definitely come back. But after the World Cup, I realised it's not going to happen. So, I'm not coming back," Klaasen said. Klaasen, 34, last featured in an international match during the 2025 Champions Trophy, where his team lost the semifinal against New Zealand by 50 runs. Coming to SRH's match against KKR, quickfire knocks from Klaasen and Abhishek Sharma and fine bowling performances from Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga and Nitish Kumar Reddy helped them achieve their first win of the 2026 IPL, beating KKR by 65 runs. Put to field first, SRH posted 226/8, with Heinrich Klaasen (52 in 35 balls, with four boundaries and a six), Abhishek Sharma (48 in 21 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (39 in 24 balls, with four boundaries and a six). KKR started off chasing fine with Finn Allen (28 in seven balls, with three sixes and two sixes) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (52 in 29 balls, with six fours and two sixes), but fizzled out quickly to bundle out for 161 in 16 overs. (ANI)
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