South Africa's star Heinrich Klaasen has withdrawn from the 2024 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) due to a family emergency. Klaasen, who was scheduled to join the Saint Lucia Kings, has been absent from cricket since the Major League Cricket in July and recently missed the T20 series against the West Indies.
Heinrich Klaasen out of CPL 2024
Heinrich played an explosive knock of 27-ball 52 in T20 World Cup 2024 final against India but couldn't save South Africa from losing the match by seven runs on June 29.. To replace Klaasen, the Saint Lucia Kings have signed New Zealand keeper-batter Tim Seifert. Seifert is a seasoned CPL player, having represented the Trinbago Knight Riders for several years and winning the title with them in 2020.
Klaasen's last CPL appearance was in 2022 for the Guyana Amazon Warriors, where he scored 117 runs in five innings with a strike rate of 137. Since then, he has established himself as one of the most formidable hitters in T20 cricket, both for South Africa and various franchise leagues worldwide. In the past two years, he has participated in 82 T20 matches for both club and country. During this time, he has amassed 2293 runs at a remarkable strike rate of 169, including two centuries and sixteen half-centuries.
Sikandar Raza, Zimbabwe's limited-overs captain, has announced on X that he will not be participating in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) due to an injury. The St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Raza's team, have yet to announce a replacement.
The Patriots have already made changes to their squad, bringing in Tabraiz Shamsi and Anrich Nortje to replace Wanindu Hasaranga and Nuwan Thushara, respectively. Additionally, the newly formed Antigua and Barbuda Falcons have signed Sam Billings, the two-time Hundred-winning captain, to replace Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai.
The Trinbago Knight Riders have added USA wicketkeeper-batter Andries Gous to their squad as a temporary replacement for Tim David. David will be unavailable for the first four games due to his international commitments with Australia for the Scotland and England T20Is. Barbados Royals will be without the South African duo of David Miller and Keshav Maharaj for the initial games of the tournament. Their absence is due to their involvement in the Cricket South Africa (CSA) awards on September 5. To fill the void, the Royals have signed Dunith Wellalage and Shamarh Brooks as temporary replacements.
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