T20 batting star, retained for a higher price than Virat Kohli, joins SRH franchise ahead of IPL 2025 [Watch]

South Africa's hard-hitting phenomenon Heinrich Klaasen has arrived at the SunRisers Hyderabad's (SRH) camp ahead of IPL 2025. In a video posted by the franchise on social media, the right-handed batter was seen posing with his bat like Telugu actor Prabhas does in the blockbuster movie 'Baahubali'.

Klaasen was retained by the SunRisers for a hefty ₹23 crore ahead of IPL 2025, higher than Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star Virat Kohli, who was kept at the franchise for ₹21 crore. The Proteas cricketer fetched a contract of ₹5.25 crore in the auction ahead of the 2024 edition and he justified it, playing an integral role in a memorable campaign. The right-handed batter finished the season with 479 runs in 16 matches at 39.91 alongside a healthy strike rate of 171.07. He also hit the second-highest number of sixes in IPL 2024 with 38.

Watch the clip posted by SRH on X as they captioned it:

"𝐁𝐚𝐚𝐡𝐮𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐢 of #OrangeArmy has arrived. Heinrich Klaasen | #PlayWithFire

However, the 33-year-old didn't have much to show in the recently concluded Champions Trophy 2025. Although he struck a blazing 64 against England, he perished for a single-figure score against New Zealand in the semi-final in Lahore.

SRH reached their first final in IPL 2024 in six years

KKR celebrate their IPL 2024 final win over SRH. (Credits: Getty)

SRH, nevertheless, managed to reach the final last year for the first time since the 2018 edition. However, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) proved to be too strong for them in the tournament-decider, blowing them away by eight wickets while chasing down 114 in Chennai.

However, the fact that they passed 250+ thrice in the tournament is why the owners decided to retain the core of Klaasen, Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, and captain Pat Cummins ahead of IPL 2025. Ishan Kishan proved to be the franchise's most expensive player in the auction, fetching ₹11.25 crore in the auction.

The SunRisers will open their campaign against the Rajasthan Royals at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on March 23.