Heinrich Klaasen announces retirement from international cricket
Cape Town (PTI): South African power-hitter Heinrich Klaasen on Monday announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket with immediate effect as he aims to strike a work-life balance, prioritising his commitments in franchise leagues across the globe.
The 33-year-old Klaasen had announced his retirement from Test cricket in January last year and has now also decided to quit the white ball formats having represented the Proteas in 4 Tests, 60 ODIs and 58 T20Is in which he scored 2764 runs.
"It is a sad day for me as I announce that I have decided to step away from international cricket. It took me a long time to decide what's best for me and my family for the future. It was truly a very difficult decision but also one that I have absolute peace with," Klaasen announced on his Instagram.
One of the most sought after batters in the T20 leagues, Klaasen had recently represented Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL and scored a ton in the concluding league game. His next assignment will be Major League Cricket in the United States for Seattle Orcas later this month.
Klaasen, who played in the T20 World Cup final against India, termed playing for the national team as his "biggest privilege".
"From the first day, it was the biggest privilege representing my country and it was everything that I have worked for and dreamed about as a young boy," Klaasen said in his emotional statement.
Someone who is known for his towering sixes and game-changing knocks as a finisher in the T20 universe, the decision is hardly surprising as the hectic international calendar is taking a toll on physical and mental health of the players.
There has been multiple surveys that have pointed at this trend where barring India whose active male cricketers are not allowed to ply their trade in other leagues, top players from other countries would explore options of turning full-fledged freelancers.
"I look forward to spending more time with my family as this decision will allow me to do so."
Klaasen fondly remembered the friendships forged on a day when another white ball exponent Glenn Maxwell quit ODIs.
"I have made great friendships and relationships that I will treasure for life. Playing for the Proteas gave me the opportunity to meet great people that changed my life, and to those people I can’t say thank you enough. My road to wearing the Proteas shirt was different than most and there were certain coaches in my career that kept believing in me - to them I will always be grateful."
"To have played with the Proteas badge on my chest was and will always be the biggest honour in my career," he concluded.
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21 hours raid fetch nothing for ED, claims Karnataka Cong MLA’s son
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Congress MLA N A Haris' son Mohammed Haris Nalapad on Tuesday claimed that the 21 hours of search by the ED in his house and other locations did not fetch anything.
The Enforcement Directorate on Monday raided the premises of the two sons of Haris (Mohammed Haris Nalapad and Omar Farook Nalapad), Aqeeb Khan, grandson of ex-Union cabinet minister K Rahman Khan and an alleged crypto hacker named Srikrishna Ramesh alias Sriki in a crypto currency-linked money laundering case.
More than a dozen premises in the city have been covered as part of the action executed under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
"My grandfather is 89-year-old. There is not a single bad mark. My father (N A Haris) is a four-time MLA. There is not a single accusation against him. Their only intention was to target myself and my brother. As simple as that," Mohammed Nalapad, who is a former Karnataka Youth Congress president, told reporters.
According to him, the ED officials carried out raids for 21 hours.
"After 21 hours of search, they took away only two mobile phones from our house. They did not get a single paisa. The ED will testify it," the Congress leader said.
Exuding faith in the law, he said he is ready to fight the case in court.
"Me and my father have opted for politics and we are in public life. You can call me whatever you want but I have not done anything wrong," Mohammed Nalapad said.
Regarding his relationship with Sriki, he said he knew him but had no clue what he was doing.
"I have never said that either me or my brother do not know Sriki. But how will I know what he does in his house? Can his crimes be linked to us," he asked.
The money laundering case stems from some Karnataka Police FIRs and chargesheets filed in a 2017 case of hacking of national and international websites, stealing of bitcoins and sale of these 'stolen' virtual digital assets (VDA) through crypto platforms by the alleged hacker Sriki and his associates.
The Nalapad brothers and Aqeeb Khan are alleged to be the beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime generated through this alleged crypto-linked crime, the ED said.
