Watch: ‘Mental space…’ — Heinrich Klaasen opens up on return after Kevin Pietersen’s remark

In the chase of 244 runs against the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the Sunrisers Hyderabad went over the line thanks to the crucial knock of 65 runs in just 30 balls at a strike rate of 216.67 from Heinrich Klaasen, with the help of seven boundaries and four sixes. He seems to be back in his beast mode after missing it towards the start of the event. 

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Just after Klassen’s strong performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 clash, the former England batter, Kevin Pietersen, claimed that Cricket South Africa should make everything possible to bring the right-handed lower-order batter back in the squad for the home ODI World Cup 2027.

Heinrich Klaasen addresses mindset and break as he returns to South Africa setup

However, Klaasen, during a recent interview, reckoned that he would only focus on the leagues around the globe rather than being back in the Proteas after announcing his international retirement last year. He will move to the ETPL, attracting new fans behind his side.

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“No, unfortunately not. For me, I'm looking forward to what's a new chapter in my life, and it's growing the game of cricket. I'm really looking forward to partnering up with Rotterdam, and we're really pushing hard to make this thing happen and to make sure that we run a professional business, and we're looking forward to getting the community behind us.” The veteran expressed this in a recent interaction.

“I don't think there's a secret. I think it's the belief. If you look at our co-partner, Faf du Plessis, he's like old wine. The longer he plays, the better he's becoming. So, he's been dominating leagues around the world since he retired from international cricket.” Klaasen expressed.

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The former batter has participated in the IPL and SA20 for the last few editions and will now be part of the European T20 Premier League (ETPL), having kept the international return off the table.

“It's just that you need to take a little bit more care off the field and what you do and how you prepare for the big leagues. It's not like you can just have a holiday and just walk into these leagues.” He concluded.

Kevin Pietersen’s comments add context to Klaasen’s comeback story

Klaasen remains the third-leading run-getter of the ongoing IPL season. He has smashed 414 runs in just nine innings at an average of nearly 60 and a strike rate of 157.41, thanks to four half-centuries at the best score of unbeaten 65 runs.

"South Africa have never won a cricket World Cup. There should be a phone call this morning from the South African cricket board to Heinrich Klaasen to ask him if he can rejoin international cricket and be a central figure in their campaign to try and win their first ever World Cup, which will be in South Africa next year." Pietersen wrote on X.

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The 34-year-old has been superb since joining the Hyderabad side in 2023, having crossed the 440-run mark in every edition, and is likely to surpass it in 2026. Hyderabad hopes to see the beast going through his business for their bigger success.