It's not been a great year for Brad Haddin, to say the least. He's been injured, rested, dropped and selected, all in the recent past. Now, after finally making his way back as the test wicket keeper for the Caribbean tour, Haddin is returning home. The reasons are said to be personal.

Haddin's departure from the West Indies is unfortunate, whatever the reasons might be. Amid talks about his form over the summer, he'd been named wicket keeper for the test side after a lot of speculation. While naming Haddin, selector Rod Marsh had made clear that he was picking him over Wade, but for the Test matches. However, he had added that Haddin would have to prove himself as a keeper batsman as soon as the series began. Marsh has been a strong supporter of Haddin even as his form has suffered, but the former keeper and selector did more than hint that if he did not perform, things would be reconsidered.

For Haddin, it's been on and off cricket for a while now. In the recently concluded tri-series with India and Sri Lanka, Haddin was first said to have been rested by the national selectors. Then came the official explanation from Cricket Australia (CA) that he had not been rested but dropped due to poor form. Needless to say, Haddin was not a very happy man after this declaration, especially because he's been plagued with injuries and believes he didn't get enough time to rest.

In 2010 he had to skip the ODI series in England due to an elbow injury. Haddin claims that this was a result of the century he hit against New Zealand in March that year. In the World Twenty20 too that was held in the Caribbean he had struggled with that very elbow injury. If this was not enough, last year he was selected for the IPL in India, but he could barely play for his team, the Kolkata Knight Riders. First, he joined late due to the Bangladesh trip. Then he had to make a quick exit and fly back home with a fractured finger.

With only a few hours left for the first ODI in the West Indies tour to begin, Haddin's exit seems odd, even if necessary from a personal viewpoint. He's been a good player and is respected amongst the team members. He's had a rough run for a while but had he stayed and proved his worth, Australia would have benefited.

But, that was not to be.