"I am glad he is listening to the show" - Former Aussie keeper hits back at Sunil Gavaskar's 'foreign players' comments ahead of Asia Cup 2025

Former Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin responded to legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar's recent comments slamming foreign players for their opinions on Indian cricket. The former Indian batter questioned former overseas players for analyzing India's 2025 Asia Cup squad instead of focusing on their own country.

In his column for the Sportstar, Gavaskar said:

"Foreigners with no stake in Indian cricket and little knowledge about it wade into the debate, 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. They should focus on their country’s cricket and let us Indians worry about our cricket."

Most of the conversation from the overseas players centered around the surprising omission of Shreyas Iyer from India's 15-member squad for the Asia Cup. Haddin, who worked closely with Iyer in the Punjab Kings (PBKS) setup in IPL 2025 as the assistant coach, also expressed his surprise at the right-hander's exclusion after the Indian squad was announced.

Responding to Gavaskar's remarks on the LiSTNR Sport YouTube channel, Haddin sarcastically said (36:09):

"I am glad he is listening to the show. We are going worldwide."

He continued:

"Our job is give an opinion on what's topical in world cricket. That's what we do. 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."

Iyer captained PBKS to a runners-up finish in his first season with the franchise this year. The 30-year-old also scored 604 runs in 17 matches at an average of 50.33 and a strike rate of over 175.

"One of the fastest ways to increase the numbers is by commenting on matters Indian" - Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar, in the same Sportstar column, also felt that foreign players discuss Indian cricket to increase their social media presence. Several former overseas stars have openly analyzed the Indian Asia Cup squad on their YouTube channels over the past couple of weeks.

"Today, in the days of public media, where getting views and followers is the theme, one of the fastest ways to increase the numbers is by commenting on matters Indian. And mostly, they do it negatively, so there is a huge reaction from Indian keyboard users, which in turn boosts their follower count. If you have a thick skin, then all the better," said Gavaskar (via the aforementioned source).

Meanwhile, the 2025 Asia Cup, to be played in the T20 format, will begin in the UAE on September 9.