Former South Africa cricketer Dale Steyn lavished rich praise on Durban Super Giants (DSG) batter Heinrich Klaasen for his golden touch in the ongoing SA20 2024. He believes that keeper-batter will set the stage on fire for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
Heinrich Klaasen since the last few years has become an absolute beast in the T20 format. The keeper-batter has been going through a golden touch in the shortest format of the game and has piled up a massive amount of runs. He has replicated the same form in the ongoing SA20 2024.
Klaasen played a sensational knock in Qualifier 2 of the SA20 2024 and powered his team to the win against Johannesburg Super Kings. He played a blinder with the bat and made sure that his team ended up with the big total on the board.
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Heinrich Klaasen ended with an innings of 74 runs off 30 balls and batted with a strike rate of over 246. The keeper-batter blasted 3 fours and 7 sixes in his innings and helped his team post a massive total of 211 runs on the board in 20 overs.
Dale Steyn hailed Klaasen as a phenomenal batter and said that they are excited about the challenge of playing against them. Lauding the keeper-batter, ahead of the final of the SA20 2024, he explained (as quoted by India Today):
“He’s phenomenal, he really is a wonderful batsman. I think we are all extremely excited about going up against somebody like him in the form that he’s in. You want to test yourself against the best, that isn’t what this game is all about. It would be really silly if we had to go out there and play against guys who are not up to the standard. That would be just boring.”
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He is going to set the world on fire in the IPL – Dale Steyn on Heinrich Klaasen
Dale Steyn, who is Sunrisers Eastern Cape bowling coach, further added that it would be fantastic if Heinrich Klaasen slams a ton against them and they still win the final. He added that he is a big fan of the batter.
Dale Steyn further added that he’s happy that Klaasen plays for SRH in the IPL. He believes that batter will be at his best in the tournament. He explained:
“So it would mean so much more if Heinrich Klaasen is able to get a 100 against us and we are still able to win. That would be fantastic, it would be great to watch from the sideline too, because he is a fantastic batsman and I’m a big fan of cricket, so I like watching how guys go about playing their roles.
“It’s great that we have got him at Sunrisers Hyderabad because he is going to set the world on fire in the IPL this year, I can guarantee you that. But I’m hoping that just for one game, he doesn’t score too many runs. That will be good for us.”
The final of the SA20 2024 will take place between Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Durban Super Giants on Saturday (9th February).
