Brad Haddin countered Sunil Gavaskar’s criticism by saying overseas players have every right to share views on India’s Asia Cup squad.
Former Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin responded strongly to Sunil Gavaskar after the Indian legend criticised foreign players for questioning India’s Asia Cup 2025 squad. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel surprised many by leaving out Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal from the 15-member squad for the tournament in Dubai and Abu Dhabi from September 9. Several former cricketers and analysts questioned the decision, leading to Gavaskar’s sharp remarks against overseas voices.
“What is baffling is foreigners who have zero stake in Indian cricket, and much less knowledge about it, wading into the debate and adding fuel to the fire. However great they may be as players and however many times they may have been to India, the selection of the Indian team is strictly none of their business,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for The Sportstar.
READ ALSO | Sunil Gavaskar Slams Foreign Legends for Criticising Ajit Agarkar Over Shreyas Iyer’s Asia Cup Snub
Haddin, currently part of the Punjab Kings coaching staff, defended his right to comment on Iyer’s omission. He explained that assessing major cricket developments is part of his role as an analyst. Haddin then added that Iyer had impressed with leadership skills and consistent performances under pressure in the IPL.
“Our job is to give an opinion on what’s topical in world cricket. That’s what we do,” Haddin said on the LiSTNR YouTube channel.
“We coached him (Iyer) in the IPL, and I stand by my take. I was shocked that he wasn’t in the squad, and I am not saying the other players (selected) shouldn’t be there. The reason I say that is because just the way he handled our group; he was a great leader, and the way he played under pressure, leading from the front. But, yeah, they are obviously going well even with players like him on the sideline,” he added.
India’s Squad For Asia Cup 2025
Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (wk), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh
Reserves – Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Yashasvi Jaiswal
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Last Updated on September 2, 2025
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