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A force to be reckoned with in limited-overs cricket, South African stalwart Heinrich Klaasen has carved a niche for himself in the international cricket. Renowned for his explosive batting, Klaasen is a nightmare for bowlers, particularly in the later stages of an innings. His ability to find the boundary with ease and score rapidly has made him a valuable asset in the T20 format. Beyond his batting prowess, Klaasen is also a dependable wicket-keeper, adding another dimension to his skillset.
Entertaining fans in IPL 2024
Currently, Klaasen is captivating audiences with his performances for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Over the course of five matches, Klaasen has accumulated 186 runs, boasting an impressive average of 62 and an outstanding strike rate of 193.75, with 7 boundaries and 17 sixes.
Names the challenging spinner
Klaasen’s exceptional record against spinners highlights his expertise in handling spin bowlers. However, the 30-year-old recently disclosed which spinner has posed the greatest challenge to him in international cricket.
Klaasen went with Indian spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, expressing his admiration for Chahal’s bowling, describing their encounters as a “good battle.” He noted that Chahal has dismissed him on several occasions, but he has also managed to score runs against the Indian spinner. Klaasen highlighted Chahal’s ability to adhere to his game plan, even when faced with pressure.
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“I like facing [Yuzvendra] Chahal. It’s always been a good battle. He’s got me out a couple of times and I’ve been scoring off him, so that ratio is nice, I feel. I know he’s an excellent bowler, he’s one of my good friends as well so that will always be a nice challenge. He’s one of the bowlers that is always sticking to his gameplan. Even if you hit him for a couple of good shots, he still follows his process. Obviously, he’s one of my mates so you want to take him down. He’s been good,” said Klaasen in an interview to Cricbuzz.
Klaasen also mentioned Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja as another challenging spinner he has faced, particularly on Jadeja’s home pitches. Though Klaasen hasn’t faced Jadeja extensively, he is looking forward to more encounters with the Indian spinner.
“And Jadeja has been good on his type of wickets. So that’s always a nice challenge. So those two spinners in particular, it’s been good. I haven’t faced a lot of Jadeja so I am looking forward to more of that,” he added.
