Conrad hopes Klaasen retirement decision was not short-sighted following the keeper-batsman’s shock decision.
SA head coach Conrad hopes Klaasen’s retirement a short-sighted move.
Shukri Conrad, the head coach of South Africa, has voiced his “disappointment” at Heinrich Klaasen’s withdrawal from international competition, although he has downplayed rumours of a falling out between them. Klaasen, who just declared his retirement from international cricket, resigned from Test cricket in January 2024, eleven months into Conrad’s time as red-ball coach, and after the South African team was dismissed after a dismal series against the West Indies.
Conrad acknowledged that he has not yet spoken with Klaasen about his reasoning, but he does not believe his statement that South Africa’s top players must be more available for bilateral series than leagues was the catalyst for his resignation.
“Obviously, if you lose a player of the calibre of Heinrich Klaasen, you’d be disappointed,” Conrad told the media at South Africa’s warm-up match against Zimbabwe at Arundel. “But if that’s the narrative that you want to espouse, that I’m the common factor, then be my guest. I haven’t even had a conversation with Heinrich. He turned down the contract long before I was even a thought in the white-ball space. It’s really unfortunate that we lose a player of his calibre. He’s one of the best in the world, if not the best, among the white ball middle-order batters.”
A month after Klaasen was left off of CSA’s central contract list, despite being a white-ball-only player, Conrad was officially announced as South Africa’s all-format coach in May.
CSA stated at the moment that talks with Klaasen were still going on. Klaasen is contracted to play in the July and August MLC and the Hundred, which coincide with South Africa’s scheduled T20I tri-series in Zimbabwe and white-ball series in Australia. Conrad expects players to prioritise their national duty, thus he is leaving little room for Klaasen, who is reportedly married to those deals and would have chosen not to participate in South Africa’s trips.
“I’d be disappointed if it [Klaasen retiring to favour leagues] was, because we didn’t have a conversation,” Conrad said. “I think if guys pre-signed deals prior to me coming on board, I certainly wasn’t going to come in there and say, ‘Well, you have got to withdraw from whatever you pre-signed.’ So without us ever having a conversation, I’d be disappointed if that was why he retired. From the little bit I know, I know Heinrich from way back when he was at the academy, kept in the academy sides when I was the coach. I’d be very surprised if he was as short-sighted as that. I think he’s obviously got really good reasons for why he’s retired, and we’ve got to respect that.”