Heinrich Klaasen Left Out Of South Africa's Central Contract List; David Miller Take Hybrid Deal

Heinrich Klaasen's international cricket career could be in jeopardy after he was excluded from Cricket South Africa's (CSA) 18-player central contract list which will run from June 1 to May 31 next year. Having retired from Test cricket in January 2024, Klaasen was on a white-ball-only contract in the previous cycle and is believed to be focusing on his T20 league career moving forward. Meanwhile, CSA in a statement said that "discussions regarding his future are ongoing and a final decision will be made in due course". With the introduction of hybrid contracts, David Miller and Rassie van der Dussen will be contracted to participate in specific agreed-upon bilateral tours and ICC events.

National contracts have been awarded for the first time to seam bowler Lizaad Williams and all-rounder Senuran Muthusamy. They are joined by fast bowler Kwena Maphaka, who made his international debut in all formats this past season.

All-rounder Wiaan Mulder, batter David Bedingham and Kyle Verreynne all earned contract upgrades during the current season and have been retained for the upcoming season.

The contracts will cover a busy season for the national team with bilateral tours away to Zimbabwe, Australia, England, Pakistan and India, as well as a home series against the West Indies.

The calendar will also feature two major ICC events: the World Test Championship (WTC) Final against Australia, which will take place at Lord's in England in June, and the T20 World Cup 2026, to be played in India and Sri Lanka early next year.

Director of National Teams and High Performance Enoch Nkwe said, “I want to congratulate all the players who have been awarded national contracts for the next 12 months, especially the players who have been