Heinrich Klaasen withdraws from CPL 2024 due to family emergency
What's the story
South African middle-order batter Heinrich Klaasen has withdrawn from the upcoming Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2024 season due to a family emergency.
The tournament is set to commence on Thursday.
This unexpected development is a significant setback for St Lucia Kings, who had secured Klaasen's services in June ahead of the CPL draft.
Player impact
Klaasen's absence: A significant loss for St Lucia Kings
Klaasen, renowned as one of the world's top power-hitters against spin bowling, will be sorely missed by his team.
His absence is a significant loss for St Lucia Kings, who had finished third on the points table last season and advanced to the Eliminator.
To fill this void, they have enlisted New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Tim Seifert as Klaasen's replacement.
Replacement announced
Seifert to replace Klaasen in St Lucia Kings
Seifert, a seasoned player with previous experience in the CPL, has been chosen to replace Klaasen.
He had previously played for Trinbago Knight Riders and was part of their title-winning team in 2020.
This strategic move by St Lucia Kings aims to mitigate the impact of losing a key player like Klaasen just before the start of the tournament.
Career highlights
Klaasen's previous CPL stint and T20 performance
In the 2022 CPL season, Klaasen was part of the Guyana Amazon Warriors team.
However, it was only after this stint that he truly established himself as a formidable limited-overs batter.
Over the past two years, Klaasen has played 82 T20s for both club and country, amassing an impressive 2,293 runs at a strike rate of 169.
This includes two centuries and 16 half-centuries.