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

The Indian team is all set to tour Australia after the T20I series against Windies to play 4 Tests, 3 T20Is and 3 ODIs. The last time India visited Australia to play a Test series was way back in 2014-15, before the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Australia won the 4 match series 2-0, with Steve Smith emerging as the top batsman scoring 769 runs in the series. Co-incidentally, both teams' captains Michael Clarke and MS Dhoni pulled out of the series and Steve Smith and Virat Kohli replaced the two. India lost the first two Tests but bounced back well to draw the remaining two Tests.

Virat Kohli's men are all set to tour Australia again and the Test squad for the series goes as follows -

Virat Kohli(c), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Parthiv Patel, R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Shami, Ishant, Umesh, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

While the above list comprises almost half the players from the 2014 squad, 7 players from the earlier squad missed out on a spot in the forthcoming tour's squad.

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#1 Karn Sharma

Karn made his Test debut for India in the first Test of the series

The leg-spinner got a place in the first Test of the series at Adelaide and picked 4 wickets in the match. He dismissed David Warner and Clarke in the first innings while he picked up the wickets of Chris Rogers and Warner in the second innings.

The young leg-spinner had given away 143 and 95 runs in both the innings, respectively. However, Karn could not make it to the playing XI of the Indian Test team after that Test and isn't even a part of the current squad.

#2 Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina's inconsistent performances at the international level have kept him away from the Indian team

Back then in 2014, Suresh Raina was one of the cornerstones of the Indian cricket team irrespective of the format of the game. Raina was a match-winner for India in the limited overs format. However, he could not enjoy the same success in the longest format as he had a dismal Test career.

In the only chance he got in the 4th Test of the 2014 series, Raina lost his wicket for a golden duck as he was caught behind off a Shane Watson delivery. Things got worse for the Uttar Pradesh born all-rounder when he was dismissed for another duck in the 2nd innings. This time though he lasted 2 balls before Mitchell Starc scalped his wicket on the third ball.

Suresh Raina's constant failures have made him extinct from the Indian Test squad and he is not a part of the squad which will tour Australia in 2018-19.

#3 Axar Patel

Axar Patel was a part of the squad but did not get an opportunity to be a part of the playing Xl

Axar Patel, the left-arm all-rounder from Gujarat, rose to the international scene in mid-2014. A brilliant performance against Sri Lanka in the home series earned him a call-up to the Test squad for Australia. However, due to the presence of Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Karn Sharma in the squad, the Indian team did not require the services of the spinner on the pace-friendly wickets of Australia.

#4 Dhawal Kulkarni

Dhawal Kulkarni was named as Bhuvneshwar Kumar's replacement

Dhawal Kulkarni who was part of the Indian Test squad which toured New Zealand way back in 2009, is yet to make his Test debut. Though the Mumbai pacer has performed brilliantly at the domestic level, he has failed to earn a Test cap.

He was named as a replacement for Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the 2014 series but was not included in the playing XI of any of the 4 Tests.

#5 Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni donned the white jersey for the final time in his career

MS Dhoni was injured for the first Test of the series and so joined the team from the second Test. He led the team in the second and the third Test before shockingly announcing his retirement from the Test format. MS Dhoni scored 33 in the first innings of the 2nd Test before being dismissed for a duck in the second innings. In his final Test match, he hit 11 runs in the first innings and remained unbeaten on 24 in his final Test innings. Ryan Harris emerged to be the last bowler to have scalped Dhoni's wicket in the Test format.

The Ranchi boy who served his nation for 9 years in the Test format called it a day after scoring 4,876 runs in 90 matches and also picking 256 catches behind the wicket.

#6 Naman Ojha

Naman Ojha was drafted in as a back-up for Wriddhiman Saha

The Madhya Pradesh-born wicket-keeper, Naman Ojha made his first class debut in 2001 but it took him 14 years to represent India at the Test level. After MS Dhoni was declared unfit for the first Test, Saha was set to keep the wickets. However, a minor injury to Saha before the series led to BCCI naming Ojha as his back-up.

But, he could not make his Test debut in the series as Saha was declared fit for the first Test. Naman failed to play a single Test in the series but the stalwart made his debut for the Indian team later that year against Sri Lanka.

#7 Varun Aaron

Varun Aaron was thought to be the future of Indian bowling

Varun Aaron was the fastest bowler in the squad and made the cut for the first Test where he picked the wickets of Watson and Mitchell Marsh in the first innings and dismissed Michael Clarke in the second innings. The fast bowler picked 2 wickets in the second Test match but leaked plenty of runs which led to his exit from the playing XI.

The Jharkhand pacer's injuries have kept him away from cricket and he is no longer a regular in the Indian squad.

Which of the 7 players do you think will India miss the most in the forthcoming tour of Australia? Share your views in the comments box below.