Heinrich Klaasen

Whilst pursuing his bachelors' degree at the University of Pretoria, Heinrich Klaasen gained an interest in cricket after he made it to his college team. Rising through the ranks, he was handed a first-class debut for the Northerns in the 2012/13 season. Having taken the longer route to the top through domestic cricket rather than age-level cricket, Klaasen piled on the numbers and had an exponentially rising graph in his first three seasons, starting off with an average of 42 in his debut season which inflated to an exemplary 65 in his third.

The sheer weight of runs and his consistency gave him a license to play franchise cricket, and he immediately made an impression, falling just short of a double-hundred in February 2017 to help the Titans beat the Dolphins in the penultimate round of the first-class competition. Consistent performances throughout the season earned him a ticket to New Zealand as a reserve wicketkeeper. Unfortunately, however, he did not make the playing XI and missed out on the coveted Test cap.

South Africa's National Academy coach Shukri Conrad hailed him (a little controversially) as the 'poor man's Dhoni'. 'Heinrich stays very calm in the situation. He stays in the moment. There’s very much a ‘poor man’s MS Dhoni’ about him. There are really no sideshows to his game and he doesn’t wait for the game to come to him. That is what I like most about him. He is as tough as they come.'

As it so happened, Klaasen got the opportunity to play against MS Dhoni when India visited in early 2018, replacing an injured de Kock in the ODI series. In an otherwise dismal limited-overs leg for the hosts, Klaasen was the shining light, earning himself the man of the match award in the only two games that the Proteas won. Pitted against the top-ranked international side in the world, Heinrich has turned out two composed performances under pressure and has put the out-of-form de Kock's place under threat.

With a calm head like Klaasen in the long term, who has already exhibited maturity far beyond his years, perhaps South Africa could finally rid themselves of the c-word for good. There is no denying the fact that his name will be frequently chanted in the years to come across the globe.

IPL through the years

A late call-up to the Rajasthan Royals, Klaasen joined the squad in unusual circumstances. Having impressed during the white-ball series against India, the wicket-keeper batsman was called up as a replacement for Australia's Steve Smith - who found himself with a one-year ban on account of the 'sandpaper fiasco'. Although he wasn't a first choice player, Klaasen acquitted himself fairly well in the four games he got to play. Released before the 2019 auctions, Klaasen was bought by the Royal Challengers, who snapped up the 27-year old at the base price of 50 lakh rupees.

By Rishi Roy