Wicketkeeper Brad Haddin says he’s been dropped, not rested from the Australian one-day cricket team and concedes he may never get his spot back.
The 34-year-old conceded his poor form had presented Matthew Wade with an opportunity, even though national selector John Inverarity explained it as resting him after a heavy schedule.
Haddin said if the Victorian gloveman took his chance in the opening matches of the ODI series against India and Sri Lanka starting on Sunday, he could be kept out of the team for good but he vowed to be ready for a recall.
It’s been suggested Haddin will return for the latter half of the ODI series, but Haddin said he must face facts amid suggestions Wade may also be taken as a second wicketkeeper for the tour to the West Indies starting in March.
“I think any time you’re out of the Australian cricket team I think you’re dropped,” Haddin told Sky Sports Radio on Tuesday.
“You give another guy an opportunity to take your spot and you’ve got to look if they do well, you could find it hard to get back in the team.
“But that’s the way it’s and I’ve just got to deal with that and make sure I’m ready to play.”
Haddin has been under pressure all summer over his performances at Test level and Wade has been touted as his likely replacement should selectors decide to make a change.
Wade will also play in the two Twenty20 internationals against India this week in Sydney and Melbourne, and Haddin said he understood the need to give his deputy a proper taste of international cricket.
Haddin will captain the Prime Minister’s XI against Sri Lanka in Canberra on February 3 and knowing that he’s in a fight to hold his place in the Australian set-up, promised to rise to the challenge.
“If you give your spot up and someone does well you’ve got no right just to walk straight back in,” he said.
“I’m actually looking forward to the PM’s game, for someone from Canberra it’s a great opportunity to get back and captain that side.
“It’s what it is at the moment. I’ve just got to make sure the next time I get an opportunity again I’m ready to go and I know I will be.”
