Klaasen's last appearance came in the CT semifinal earlier this year. © Getty
Heinrich Klaasen, the South Africa wicketkeeper-batter, has announced his international retirement on Monday (June 2), stepping away from the white-ball formats having ended his red-ball career in 2024.

"It is a sad day for me as I announce that I have decided to step away from international cricket. It took me a long time to decide what's best for me and my family for the future. It was truly a very difficult decision but also one that I have absolute peace with," said Klaasen about his decision to step away from international cricket having played for the South African team for seven years.

"From the first day, it was the biggest privilege representing my country and it was everything that I have worked for and dreamed about as a young boy," said Klaasen. "I have made great friendships and relationships that I will treasure for life. Playing for the Proteas gave me the opportunity to meet great people that changed my life, and to those people I can't say thank you enough.

"My road to wearing the Proteas shirt was different than most and there were certain coaches in my career that kept believing in me - to them I will always be grateful. To have played with the Proteas badge on my chest was and will always be the biggest honour in my career. I look forward to spending more time with my family as this decision will allow me to do so. I will always be a big Proteas supporter and would like to thank everyone that supported me and my teammates during my career," he added.

The 33-year old Klaasen, who made his ODI and T20I debut in 2018, has finished his career with 3000-plus runs in both formats combined. He got 2141 runs in 60 ODIs (56 innings), at an average of 43.69 and a strike rate of 117.05, including 4 hundreds and 11 fifties with a highest of 174 against Australia in 2023. In T20Is, he featured in 58 matches (53 innings) in which he scored 1000 runs at an average of 23.25 and a strike rate of 141.84, with five half-centuries, including a highest of 81 against India in 2022.

Klaasen's last ODI appearance came in South Africa's loss to New Zealand in the Champions Trophy semifinal in March 2025. His final T20I was against Pakistan in December 2024.

Enoch Nkwe, the director of the national teams and high performance, said: "Heinrich has been a true match- winner for South Africa. He was a player capable of changing the course of a game in a matter of overs. His commitment and impact in the white-ball formats have been immense, and we thank him for his outstanding service to South African cricket.

"He has been transparent with Cricket South Africa throughout the past few months, and we fully respect his decision to retire from international cricket. We wish him continued success in the next chapter of his journey."