Brad Haddin

Although not exactly of the same caliber, Brad Haddin was a fairly good replacement to Adam Gilchrist when Australia were looking for a dashing wicket-keeper batsman post Gilly's retirement. In fact, if it weren't for the latter's prowess in the years gone by, Haddin would certainly have debuted earlier in international cricket. A proactive batsman particularly strong square of the wicket, Haddin was very agile behind the stumps and took quite a few phenomenal diving catches during his time in Australian colors. Haddin usually reserved his best for crunch situations - his Ashes heroics especially in the 2013-14 series at home come to mind - due to his immense self belief and mental strength. His style of batting ensured that Haddin was a good fit in all three formats.

It wasn't always a comfortable ride though. Gilchrist's dominance meant that other wicket-keepers in Australia could only force their way into the national side as a pure batsman and that was a category where there were already options aplenty. Haddin chose to wait and was at times, apprentice to Gilchrist. He made his international debut as early as 2001 and since then, was often filling in whenever Gilly got injured or opted for rest. It was only after the latter's retirement in 2008 that he became a permanent fixture in the side. Unlike ODIs, Haddin had to wait forever till his first Test cap and that came in the same year as Gilly's farewell. Over the next few years, there was a stiff competition between Haddin and Matthew Wade for the wicket-keeper slot with neither of them really quite cementing it.

The Haddin-Wade dilemma was clearly a difficult one for the Australian selectors. It seemed like Haddin was the better bet for Tests while the southpaw seemed suited for the shorter forms due to his over-aggressive style of play. Haddin remained unfazed despite this competition and continued to work on his game. The 2013-14 Ashes series at home was probably what stamped his mark as Australia's first choice wicketkeeper. His keeping had always been great but this series saw him produce consistent match-turning knocks under pressure. The 2014-15 season was a good one for him in ODIs and he was part of the victorious 2015 World Cup squad. After the glory, he quit from the shorter formats and intended to focus on Tests a bit more but it wasn't to be.

The 2015 Ashes series unfortunately became Haddin's last in international cricket with injuries and form hitting him so hard that he wasn't picked after he initially missed a game due to a family issue. It was painful and he retired in the same year from international cricket but continued to take part in the BBL for the Sydney Sixers and was a crucial performer for Islamabad United in the PSL as well. Much earlier, Haddin did have a lukewarm stint in the IPL too where he was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders squad. Since Haddin's retirement, Australia have had trouble in getting the wicket-keeper batsman slot right with Wade once again trying for it but failing. Goes to show the value Haddin added during his days without really being noticed as much as his predecessor.

By Hariprasad Sadanandan