Heinrich Klaasen has set new standards in the game with his fearless batting: Lance Klusener

Lance Klusener, a former South African all-rounder, was as awestruck as all others after seeing Heinrich Klaasen's dazzling performance during Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) clash against Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2024 on Wednesday, March 27. Klusener, who is currently serving as assistant coach of the Lucknow Super Giants, feels that the South African has set unmatched standards in the T20 format. During the match, the wicketkeeper-batter struck a quickfire 34-ball 80* and guided SRH to post 277 runs, the highest in the history of the tournament.

Klusener feels Klaasen has been in a league of his own in the shortest format for a while now. He added that the wicketkeeper-batter follows a fearless batting approach, the quality no other cricketer in the modern era has.

“It was a different cricket in our playing days. Now, the style of batting has changed and this T20 cricket is something very amazing and enjoyable. I saw the last night between Hyderabad Sunrisers and Mumbai Indians in bits and pieces, but Klaasen was amazing and the way he is batting in this IPL is very admirable,” Klusener was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

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“He (Klaasen) has got good understanding of this format of the game. He has set new standards in the game with his fearless batting, and I don’t feel anybody is close to him right now in the world. For Team India, MS Dhoni used to do this kind of batting for a long time in the past," the 52-year-old added.

Klaasen has got a great swing, power as well as style: Klusener

Lance Klusener went on to praise Heinrich Klaasen's batting style, stating he has got the right vision. He further stated that the 32-year-old works hard in the nets and has the ability to play against swing.

Also read: IPL 2024: Heinrich Klaasen's daughter cheers for him from stands, video goes viral

“He (Klaasen) can hit the ball with sheer power and his vision to hit the ball as per his pick and he knows the area from where he can get maximum runs. He prepares well for the match and technically has got a great swing, power as well as style. The new generation of batters showed a variety of hitting in the T20 cricket, and they make sure that scoreboard moves on a fast pace. It was nice to see a record-breaking score in the match. It was a good batting wicket, but not so good bowling and it helped the batters to score big runs. That’s the new standard of the IPL,” said Klusener.

"Batters have become more innovative in style and skillful now. We were less innovated in our time but this T20 cricket has allowed the new generation to show the different skills of bowling and batting, and now the feeling of cricket is very high,” he further said.