Retired South African-batter Heinrich Klaasen has shut down his critics over his slow strike rate after Sunrisers Hyderabad secured a 10-run victory over Chennai Super Kings at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal on Saturday.
The former South African batter, leading the charts with his bat, brought up his 10th fifty in the Indian Premier League, helping SRH post a respectable total to defend. With 283 runs under his belt in six games, Klaasen has come under consistent scrutiny for his strike rate. In IPL 2026, Klaasen has been scoring at a strike rate of 144.39, far lower than his previous season highs of over 170.
“I know there’s been a lot said about my strike rate this season, but I’ve been putting the team in good positions, and I’m just doing my job,” Klaasen told reporters after the game on Saturday.
Against CSK, Klaasen brought up his fifty in 31 balls before Anshul Khamboj got the better of him. His innings included six fours and two sixes at a strike rate of 151.28. “I’ve been in difficult situations, and you have to take responsibility and be mature about it. You can’t just deal with it like that—that’s not how the game works. We get paid to do the job, and I don’t care about strike rate. You just have to be mature about it and find different ways of scoring 10 runs an over and making sure that you still get a good score on the board,” he added.
EYE GYM FOR REFLEXES?
The South African batter explained how going to an ‘eye gym’ back in Cape Town during the off-season had helped him sharpen his reflexes.
“It’s all a personal programme for yourself, and it’s just a big tool to make decisions under pressure. It’s about a 10-minute session a day, and you make about four to five hundred decisions in that time under pressure, within a certain timeframe and reaction work,” Klaasen explained. “I’m still keeping up with the pace of the game, and that’s kept me at ease—not to play more cricket because 150 doesn’t feel like 150 when you’re seeing the ball nicely. When you feel out of sync, 135 feels like 150, and that’s not happening.”
Klaasen’s knock against CSK helped the team post 194 runs on the board. This was SRH’s third consecutive win, helping the team enter the top four in the table. They next host Delhi Capitals on April 21, while CSK take on eternal rivals Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on April 23.
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