'There should be a phone call this morning' - Kevin Pietersen urges South Africa to recall Heinrich Klaasen for 2027 World Cup

Published - 30 Apr 2026, 17:08 IST | Updated - 30 Apr 2026, 17:34 IST

Former England batter Kevin Pietersen has urged Cricket South Africa (CSA) to bring Heinrich Klaasen back into their international setup in the quest to win their maiden ICC Cricket World Cup on home soil in 2027. This comes after the right-handed batter’s match-winning 65 not out against the Mumbai Indians in the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL).

Pietersen wants Klaasen to be South Africa’s main man, which will give them the best possible chance to win the showpiece tournament.

“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,” Kevin Pietersen wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

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…

Klaasen decided to retire from international cricket in 2025 to focus on his participation in T20 leagues across the world. Since making his South Africa debut in 2018, the 34-year-old has played 60 ODI matches, scoring 2,141 runs at a strike-rate of 117.05 whilst averaging almost 44. He has four centuries to his name in the 50-over format, with his highest score being 174 against Australia in 2023.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad star played 10 times at the 2023 Cricket World Cup, where he scored 373 runs at an outstanding strike-rate of 133.21. He even scored a hundred against England at the Wankhede Stadium.

Klaasen’s return could be huge for South Africa as they continue their ascendancy on the international stage in men’s cricket. The Proteas reached the semi-finals at the 2023 World Cup and the 2026 T20 World Cup and finished runners-up at the 2024 T20 World Cup in the Caribbean. The side led by Temba Bavuma, however, went on to win the most recent ICC World Test Championship in 2025 by beating defending champions Australia in the final at Lord’s.