7 Indian players who played in India's last T20I against South Africa in South Africa but are not there this time

After thumping the hosts 5-1 in the ODI series, India will look to carry their momentum forward, when they play the first of the three T20Is at Johannesburg on Sunday.

Interestingly, this will be the first time that the two teams will square off in a T20I on South African soil in almost six years.

The last game was in the rain-affected one-off game at the same venue, which South Africa won by 11 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method.

7 of the players who featured in that game will not be a part of the XI tomorrow.

We look at those players here:

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7.R Vinay Kumar

Vinay Kumar did not have the best of games that night

The Karnataka paceman was used as a first-change option in that game and did not have the most memorable outing with the ball, going for 32 runs in his three overs on an excellent batting surface.

Kumar had done reasonably well in the limited-overs leg of the tour to Australia, where he proved to be effective in the end overs, but on this day, he had no answers to the belligerence of the South African batting that day

He only played one T20I match for India after that game.

6. Praveen Kumar

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The Uttar Pradesh seamer was entrusted with the job to give the side the early breakthrough, but he endured a poor day with the ball, going for 22 runs in his two overs.

In those days, MS Dhoni had a lot of faith in Praveen, who in helpful conditions, gave him the wickets he looked for in the early overs.

But in good batting conditions, as was the case that day, he proved to be ineffective and could not do the job the captain looked at him on the day.

Sadly, that was the last match he played for India in the shortest format.

5. Yusuf Pathan

Pathan could barely create an impact for India in that game

The lone T20I against South Africa was some form of a comeback for Yusuf Pathan after he had missed a chunk of India's matches post the 2011 World Cup.

However, on the day, the Baroda all-rounder could neither make an impact with the bat or with the ball.

In the former case, he did not get an opportunity as the rains arrived with the openers still out in the middle, while in the latter case, he gave away 9 runs in the only over that he bowled.

Like the case with Praveen Kumar, this turned out to be his last game as well for India in the shortest format.

4. R Ashwin

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The lone specialist spinner for India on the day, Ashwin proved to be the best bowler on the park for India that day, claiming figures of 1 for 33 in his 4 overs.

Those were testing times for him as a bowler as he was trying to cement his place in the side ahead of an out-of-favor Harbhajan Singh and the Tamil Nadu cricketer endured mixed times with the ball in hand.

While in the next few years he did improve splendidly and became a permanent fixture in the side across all formats, his stocks as a limited-overs bowler have taken a serious dent in the last 8-9 months.

While he hopes to remain in contention for a World Cup berth next year, it will be interesting to see how the management fit him and Ravindra Jadeja in the setup.

3. Irfan Pathan

Pathan did not have a good outing with the ball that day

sharing the new ball duties with Praveen Kumar that day was Irfan Pathan, who went for 44 runs in 4 overs, despite picking the wicket of Richard Levi.

After missing out on a lot of the action in 2011, he was brought back for the limited-overs leg of India's tour to Australia in 2012 and decent performances, combined with the non-selection of certain players meant that he boarded the flight to play the sole T20I in South Africa.

He was picked for the subsequent tour to Sri Lanka in August where he impressed with the ball and that also helped him book a ticket for the World T20 in the same country.

However, that event in the Emerald Island proved to be the last time that he played for India in the shortest format and it remains to be seen if he would get another opportunity to play for the national side again.

2. Robin Uthappa

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In the absence of Virender Sehwag, the opening duties with the bat in hand were entrusted to Robin Uthappa, who was making a comeback to the Indian setup after a gap of four months.

Before the rain arrived to curtail India's chase of 220 runs, the right-hander was batting unbeaten on 18 off 19 balls, having given his side the platform it needed.

It has been an up-and-down ride for Uthappa since then as he made his way back into the Indian setup in 2014 only to be dropped again and then in 2015 was given another chance only to be dropped after a poor run of scores in Zimbabwe.

1. Gautam Gambhir

Gambhir was in top form that day at Johannesburg

Opening the batting with Uthappa that day was Gautam Gambhir, who got himself to 49 off 28 balls before the rains arrived.

As India looked to regain lost ground after a poor tour of Australia, the left-hander's role at the top of the order was vital for the team to build a side for the future.

However, the Delhi batsman could not develop the level of consistency which the management looked from him and towards the end of the year found himself almost out of the reckoning in the Indian limited-overs setup.

While his fans stay in hope for him to make a return in Indian colors, it remains to be seen if the selectors have a similar line of thought or not.