4 players who made their Test debut when India last played a Test series in Australia

KL Rahul made his test debut for India in the 3rd test of the series
KL Rahul made his test debut for India in the 3rd test of the series

India's last Test series in Australia is remembered as the last series of MS Dhoni in the longest format of the game. However, there were 4 young players who earned their maiden Test cap during the 4-match series which India lost 0-2.

The Australian team received a major setback when their left-handed batsman Phillip Hughes died ahead of the series' first match due to an accident on the cricket pitch. He was named the 13th man of the squad of the first test and a plethora of cricketing greats from all over the world paid tribute to the Aussie.

However, two players from Australia and two from India made their test debut in the series and here is the summary of their test careers thus far -

#1 Karn Sharma

The 3-time IPL winner Karn Sharma has failed to be a part of the international squad in any format
The 3-time IPL winner Karn Sharma has failed to be a part of the international squad in any format

When Virat Kohli was handed the captaincy in the first test of the series, he showed his aggressive nature by picking leg-spinner Karn Sharma in order to scalp wickets. However, Karn failed to deliver as he was taken to the cleaners by the likes of David Warner, Micheal Clarke, and Steve Smith. The leggie leaked 143 runs in his 33 overs picking the wickets of Warner and Clarke in the first innings. With the bat, he could only score 4 runs in the first innings before Peter Siddle cleaned him up.

Also Read - 7 players who were in the Indian Test squad in 2014 for Australia but are missing from the 2018 squad

In Australia's 2nd innings, the leg-spinner again took two wickets as he dismissed openers Chris Rogers and Warner. He had an economy rate of 5.93 in the innings the chief reason being Mitchell Marsh's 3 sixes. Karn remained unbeaten on 4 in the 2nd innings and never ever got a chance to play Test cricket.

#2 Josh Hazlewood

Hazlewood picked up 7 wickets in his debut match
Hazlewood picked up 7 wickets in his debut match

MS Dhoni made his return to the Indian side in place of Wriddhiman Saha while Josh Hazlewood replaced Peter Siddle in the Australian playing XI. This was the first instance where the right-arm medium pacer Hazlewood was playing for Australia in the longest format of the game.

He did not disappoint the selectors as he scalped 5 Indian wickets in his very first innings. Pujara, Kohli, Rahane, Dhoni, and Ashwin all fell prey to the speedster's pace. Hazlewood, batting at number 11 scored 32 valuable runs which helped Australia take the first innings lead. He dismissed Pujara and Dhoni again in the 2nd innings to complete a 7-wicket haul in the match.

Hazlewood has played 39 tests for his nation since then and is one of the integral parts of the Australian squad. He has picked up 151 wickets in his Test career so far.

#3 KL Rahul

KL Rahul has been a mainstay in the Indian test squad
KL Rahul has been a mainstay in the Indian test squad

Karnataka born KL Rahul, who played as a top order batsman in the domestic leagues, made his debut for India batting at no.6. Replacing Rohit Sharma in the playing XI, Rahul failed in his first innings as he could only score 3 runs before losing his wicket to Nathan Lyon.

He was promoted to no.3 in the second innings but again fell cheaply to Mitchell Johnson after adding just 1 run to the scoreboard. However, he repaid his faith back to the selectors with a fine 110 opening the innings in the 4th test match. Though he was dismissed for 16 in the 2nd innings, the selectors included him in the next series.

KL Rahul has scored 1,848 runs in the 31 test matches he has played for India and has scored 5 hundreds and 11 half-centuries. He has a career-best score of 199.

#4 Joe Burns

Joe Burns was included in the test squad based on his performance in the BBL
Joe Burns was included in the test squad based on his performance in the BBL

The Australian middle-order batsman, Joe Burns also made his debut in the 3rd Test of the series along with KL Rahul and he too failed to score big in both of his innings as he managed to score 13 and 9 in the 1st and 2nd innings respectively.

Burns scored 58 in the first innings of the fourth test and scored a quick-fire 66 off just 39 balls in the 2nd innings to help his side set a huge target for India. Joe hit 8 fours and 3 sixes in his innings where he had a strike-rate of 169.23.

Joe Burns has played 14 Tests for Australia thus far and has scored 3 centuries and 4 fifties. He has a career-best score of 170 in the longest format of the game.

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Edited by Rajdeep Puri
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