Heinrich Klaasen last kept the wickets for SRH in their away clash against the Gujarat Titans last season.
The South African big-hitter Heinrich Klaasen had operated as the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s primary wicket-keeper last season. But in the IPL 2026, the role is performed by Ishan Kishan, who is also leading the team in skipper Pat Cummins’ absence. However, the batter was questioned about not taking up the keeping duties in the ongoing edition before the SRH vs RR clash.
As per Klaasen, captain Cummins wanted him behind the stumps last season, sharing some valuable advice in the crucial junctures of the game. But the management noted how it was easy for the local youngsters to communicate with Ishan as the keeper. Moreover, with Cummins yet to recover from his back injury and the left-hander carrying on to lead the side, SRH decided to stick with the Jharkhand gloveman.
“Last year, Pat was just happy with me next to him, giving him some ideas, and we quite liked how the local players listened to Ishan when he was keeping. So, that was the strategy going in this season as well. Unfortunately, Pat is still injured. So yeah, that’s the only reason why I’m not keeping, but I think my keeping career is almost very done,” said Klaasen before the SRH vs RR match.
Klaasen has been a pivotal player for the Hyderabad outfit, notching up 400-plus runs for the team in three successive seasons since the IPL 2023. Though his strike rate has declined from 170-plus to 142.67 in the ongoing edition, the 34-year-old is still one of the key figures in the SRH batting line-up.
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After two early wickets of the explosive opening pair, Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head, the Kishan-Klaasen duo rescued SRH with a counter-attacking 88-run partnership off just 39 balls. The skipper led the charge with a blazing 44-ball 91, striking at a fierce rate of 206.81. His fiery innings included eight boundaries and six maximums.
On the other hand, the Proteas finisher also recorded a brisk 40 off 26 deliveries, laced with three sixes and a four, to guide the side to a huge total of 216/6. With this knock, Klaasen is currently leading the top run-scorer’s chart of the IPL 2026, scoring 224 runs in five appearances, including two half-centuries.
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