South African wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen has slammed shortened international tours which he believes limit South Africa’s chances of competing at the highest level. With India leading the four-match T20I series 2-1, South Africa can only manage a draw with a win on Friday, Klaasen argues that a longer series would have provided more opportunity for growth and competition.
In recent years, South Africa’s schedules in all formats have been consistently shorter than other cricketing nations, a situation that has exasperated players like Klaasen. “We don’t play five-match series anymore. Our Test team plays a two-match series, which is ridiculous in my eyes,” Klaasen said. “How nice would it be if we won on Friday and on Sunday there was another game, going into it at 2-2. It’s disappointing and doesn’t sit well with the players.”
Klaasen’s comments also reflect a concern with the wider international calendar. The packed schedules force teams like India to split squads across formats and regions. Just as India’s T20 squad concludes its series in South Africa, the Test team will head to Australia for a series starting next week. “You see India are playing this Friday and next Friday, which is incredible, on two different sides of the world,” Klaasen noted.
This structuring has limited South Africa’s encounters with top teams, with a five-match T20I series occurring only twice since 2021 and no three-match Test series in over a year. The last time South Africa played a five-match ODI series was against Australia before the 2023 World Cup. Meanwhile, India has had three five-match T20I series since 2022, including one against Australia. Klaasen reckons such limited scheduling deprives South Africa of opportunities to sharpen their game.
“If I put your career, as whatever job anyone does, on the table, and I said, ‘if you make one mistake, and that’s the end,’ you will be frustrated if you make a mistake. Not that his career is at all on the line, by the way,” he said. “I’m just saying, people need to understand that that’s what we go through. It’s in the heat of the moment. There’s a billion people that are going to be on your head if you fail. There’s a lot of frustration and he was looking fantastically in the way that he struck the ball tonight. It’s nice to see that he’s finding some rhythm in his game, and hopefully he will kick on.”
Even as India fields two competitive squads across continents, questions remain about whether South Africa could adopt a similar model. Most of South Africa’s first-choice Test players missed a tour to New Zealand due to contract obligations with the SA20 league, leading to a historic series loss. Despite the setbacks, South Africa still has a chance to reach the World Test Championship final with upcoming home victories.
