Klaasen announced his retirement from international cricket on June 2, 2025, bringing an end to a seven-year international career that included four Tests, 60 ODIs and 58 T20Is. His final appearance for South Africa came in the 2025 Champions Trophy semi-final against New Zealand in Lahore.
Since retiring, Klaasen has focused on domestic and franchise cricket around the world. He believes the decision has allowed him to better manage his workload and use the gaps between tournaments to reset both physically and mentally.
“Retiring from international cricket gave me the freedom to have a break in between these competitions. For the majority of these competitions, I’ve got about a month, a month and a half, or two months off in between. So that gives me enough time to just reset, take everything in, work on the things that need to be worked on, and just get the body ready for the next tournament,” Klaasen said on JioStar.
Klaasen targeting more trophy success
Klaasen has continued to impress in franchise cricket. During IPL 2026, he scored 624 runs in 15 innings, including six fifties. In The Hundred 2026, he had accumulated 166 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 182.41, including two half-centuries.
With Manchester Super Giants reaching the Men’s Hundred final against Trent Rockets on August 16, Klaasen is now focused on helping his team lift the trophy.
The hard-hitting batter admitted that maintaining his usual standards while playing less cricket can be challenging, but winning trophies remains his biggest objective.
“Winning trophies is one goal. It has been a lean run on the trophies, so the personal goal is to get into, and get the team into positions to win trophies,” Klaasen said.
He added that keeping the quality of his cricket high remains a major challenge, particularly with a reduced playing schedule, but believes his recent performances show he is maintaining his standards.
