3 players who are likely to be axed for the Australia series

India losing the second away tour of this year doesn't augur well for their chances in Australia later this year. With scorelines of 1-3 and 1-4 things seem to be getting from bad to worse for the Indian team. Smith and Warner's absence provides India with a rare chance to create history down under.

The margin of error is ever so little on away tours and India learned it the hard way against England. As good a player Kohli is, his alliance with Shastri on team selection wasn't a successful venture. This led to consistently unappealing performances from a few players and India would be better off without them in the Australian tour.

#3 Shikhar Dhawan

Dhawan couldn't manage a single fifty throughout the series

At the start of the tour, Dhawan couldn't put up with the outswingers and later on, he transformed into an LBW candidate. The fluency one associates with Dhawan in white-ball cricket was found wanting red-ball cricket. Perhaps he should have broken free the way Rahul did in the fifth Test.

Hindsight is not going to help him now though as the series is done and dusted. Dhawan's century against Afghanistan earned him a starting XI spot in the England series though historically he was always found troubled in swinging conditions. The gamble didn't pay off and the swashbuckling opener returned with 162 runs in eight innings at an ignorable average of 20.25.

The Indian management has been accused of not having faith and giving Dhawan an extended run. They called their bluff this time around and Dhawan stood exposed.

#2 Murali Vijay

Vijay got a pair at Lord's

India's overseas fortune reflected Vijay's form in the recent years. The Indian team sank or sailed along with him in away tours. When such a player is not even in the squad for the last two Tests you know things have changed alarmingly. India's prized possession in the 2014 England series was a mere shadow of himself four years later.

The 34-year-old wasn't seeing the ball as effectively as he used to and consequently couldn't leave balls when required. Ironically his 'leaving the ball' skillset is wat reaped him gold in all the away tours. Vijay was slow on his feet, didn't dispatch the due balls and was late to react. You wonder if age has caught up with the sleek opener. It would take a string of jaw-dropping performances from the Chennai lad for Essex to have any chance of touring Australia.

#1 Dinesh Karthik

Karthik was overlooked for the last three matches

Karthik was selected as India's first-choice keeper for the England tour. While people made their voices heard when Karthik wasn't given due opportunities in the ODI setup, the same people voiced for the KKR skipper's exclusion from the playing XI after the first two Tests; such was the performance of the Nidhas Trophy star.

His returns were 0, 20, 1 and 0 in the two Tests that he played. If his batting left a lot to be desired, his glove-work was not far behind. He didn't have a grip over the field spacing in the slip region and as a result, there was indecisiveness over who should go for catches. With age not on his side and Pant inviting worldwide attention after the fifth Test, it would take a miracle to get the selectors to not overlook the lanky wicket-keeper for the Australian tour.