Kevin Pietersen Calls for Heinrich Klaasen’s Return to South Africa’s Team for 2027 World Cup
Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen has called on South African cricket officials to convince Heinrich Klaasen to come out of international retirement. He believes Klaasen’s return could help South Africa win the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027, which will be hosted in their home country.
Klaasen retired from international cricket last June but has been performing exceptionally well in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with Sunrisers Hyderabad. This season, he is the second-highest run-scorer, with 414 runs in nine innings at an average of 59.14 and a strike rate of 157.41, including four fifties.
Pietersen suggested that South Africa should reach out to Klaasen immediately to play a central role in their World Cup campaign. He emphasized that South Africa has never won a cricket World Cup and this could be their best chance.
While it depends on Klaasen’s willingness to return, there is a possibility he might reconsider his retirement decision, similar to how Quinton de Kock came back from retirement last year to play in the T20 World Cup and the upcoming 2027 event.
Klaasen had a strong international career from 2018 to 2025, scoring 3,245 runs in 122 matches across formats. In ODIs, he made 2,141 runs at an average of 43.69 with four centuries and 11 fifties. In T20Is, he scored 1,000 runs in 58 matches, including five half-centuries.
Klaasen’s standout performance was during the 2023 World Cup, where he scored 373 runs in 10 innings at an average of 41.44 and a strike rate of 133.21, with one century and three fifties. Despite his overall success, he struggled in the 2021 T20 World Cup but remained a valuable player for South Africa.
His final international appearance was in the ICC Champions Trophy semifinal against New Zealand in Lahore last year.