Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) star Heinrich Klaasen has been in sensational form in the ongoing IPL 2026, but the discussions surrounding his strike rate are overshadowing his efforts with the bat. Heinrich Klaasen currently holds the Orange Cap, but his batting style has raised many eyebrows.
Heinrich Klaasen has scored 283 runs in six matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad this season at a strike rate of over 144. The biggest challenge for him is his slow start. Earlier Klaasen used to attack with the first ball, but now he is taking a little more time to build his innings.
Orange cap holder Heinrich Klaasen faces questions over low strike rate in IPL 2026
The South African wicketkeeper-batsman has been scoring runs consistently for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the ongoing IPL 2026, but his strike rate is lower compared to the last few seasons (177 in 2023, 171 in 2024 and around 173 in 2025), which has led to people criticizing his approach.
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However, there is a reason behind this. After helping SRH beat Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 10 runs in Hyderabad, Klaasen shared that he focuses more on building innings, as one has to be at the crease and control things when early wickets fall.
I don’t care about strike rate: Heinrich Klaasen
Heinrich Klaasen said in the post-match presentation, “I’ve been in difficult situations, and you have to take responsibility and be mature about it. You can’t just joke around – the game doesn’t work that way. We get paid to work, and I don’t care about the strike rate.”
This was clearly seen in SRH’s previous IPL 2026 match against CSK. The Hyderabad pitch was a bit slow and the home team lost two wickets for just 18 runs after a strong start. In that situation, Klaasen remained calm and played a steady inning of 59 runs in 39 balls against CSK.
At the same time, Abhishek Sharma played a stormy inning of 59 runs in just 22 balls. The combination worked well, as SRH managed to post a strong score of 194 and later restricted CSK to 184 to register their third win of this season.
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Can’t just procrastinate: Klaasen defends his approach this season
Defending his approach, Klaasen insisted that early wickets force him to put aside his natural aggressive instincts and play according to the situation. “I know a lot has been said about my strike rate this season, but I’m putting the team in good positions. I’m just doing my job,” he said.
Klaasen signed off by saying, “It’s not like I can just start. If you lose one more wicket, you’ve got five wickets less. So, it’s about finding different ways to score 10 runs per over and still put a good score on the board.”
The Proteas will be seen in action on April 21 when Sunrisers Hyderabad take on Delhi Capitals in their next IPL 2026 encounter at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad.