Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin said Tuesday he has been dropped, not rested, from the one-day squad to face India and Sri Lanka and conceded it will be tough for him to win back his place.
Selectors said they had left Haddin out of the 14-man squad for the first three games of the tri-nation series to give him a rest after the 4-0 Test whitewash of India, but the 34-year-old had a different take.
“I think any time you’re out of the Australian cricket team I think you’re dropped,” he told Sky Sports Radio.
“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 is and I’ve just got to deal with that and make sure I’m ready to play.”
Haddin’s place has been taken by Matthew Wade, who is 10 years younger and says he plans to make the most of it.
“I’m looking to take my chance and see what happens from there,” Wade told reporters.
“I’m just hoping to do my best, I’m not sure what the selectors have got in mind after these three games but I’ll be doing my best to make it a hard decision to remove me.”
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.
Australia and India start the one-day series on February 5 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
