8 players who made their T20I debut when India last played a T20I series in Australia

The tour of Australia is almost upon us and India is all set to play the first T20I against Australia on 21st November at the Gabba. The last time that India played a T20I Down Under was way back in 2016 before the ICC World T20. MS Dhoni was the captain of the Indian squad while Aaron Finch was the skipper of the home team. The series saw as many as 8 players make their T20I debut for both the sides as the two teams experimented before the WT20.

The visitors won the 3 match series 3-0 and Virat Kohli was adjudged the Man of the Series for his brilliant performance in the series. The current captain of the Indian team amassed 199 runs in the 3 matches and routed the Australian bowling attack.

Here is the list of the 8 players who had made their debut in the T20I series:

#1 Travis Head

Travis Head made his T20I debut in the first match of the series

The young Aussie batsman was drafted into the squad due to his commendable performance in the Big Bash League. He was included in the playing XI of the first match where batting at no.4 he could score only 2 runs and was dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja on the fifth ball of his innings. The left-handed middle-order batsman was dropped for the 2nd match of the series but he was chosen again in the 3rd match where he hit 26 off 19 balls and stitched a 93 run partnership with opener Shane Watson.

He has represented Australia in 16 T20I matches thus far and amassed 319 runs at an average of 26.58. Head was ignored by the selectors for the upcoming series.

#2 Scott Boland

Scott Boland was thought to be a vital cog of the Australian bowling attack

The Victorian pacer Scott Boland was picked by Australia in the 2nd match of the series after they lost the first match. Boland had earlier made his ODI debut against India just a few days ago and soon received his maiden T20I cap against the same opposition. The right-arm fast medium pacer bowled a tidy 4 overs on his debut conceding just 30 runs from them but was taken to the cleaners in the final match.

Boland leaked 34 runs in his 3 overs as India chased down a target of 198 in 20 overs to whitewash the home side. He has played just 14 ODIs and 3 T20Is for his nation thus far and has not been a part of the playing XI since October 2016 in any format. He is not included in the T20I squad to face India.

#3 Cameron Bancroft

He was involved in the infamous sandpaper gate scandal

Cameron Bancroft, the young right-handed Australian batsman made his T20I debut against India when the two sides met in 2016. He had a silent debut as he walked in to bat with just 2 balls left in the Australian innings. Bancroft could not even a single ball in his first international innings.

That till now remains the only T20I that Bancroft has played for Australia. He hasn't made his ODI debut yet and received a 9-month ban from Cricket Australia when he was caught tampering the conditions of the ball in the 8th test match of his career, against the Proteas.

Bancroft was the first Australian player after Michael Slater in 1993 to make his Test debut in an Ashes test when he replaced Matt Renshaw and opened the innings for the Aussies.

#4 Jasprit Bumrah

He was picked after consistent performances for MI

Jasprit Bumrah, the pacer from Ahmedabad received his maiden T20I cap in the very first match of the series and he instantly made an impact at the international level. Bumrah, known for his unique action finished as the leading wicket-taker of that series scalping 6 wickets in the 3 matches.

The young lad picked a 3-wicket haul on his debut dismissing Warner, Faulkner and Boyce. He finished the second T20I with figures of 2-37 where he picked up the wickets of John Hastings and AJ Tye. Jasprit could only pick up one wicket in the final match but he sent the dangerous Chris Lynn back to the pavilion.

Bumrah has played 35 T20Is so far and has 43 wickets to his name. The fiery pacer is all set to make his mark once again in Australia.

#5 Nathan Lyon

Despite being a Test regular, his maiden T20I came in 2016

Nathan Lyon was one of the best off-spinners that Australia have produced but for a long time, he was just chosen to play the longest format of the game. It took Lyon 5 years after making his Test debut to receive his first T20I cap for his nation.

Lyon was included in the Australian playing XI for the second match of the series but failed to make even a minimal impact as he leaked 15 runs in the only over he was asked to bowl. He was dropped for the final match of the series but recently made a comeback to the T20I squad against Pakistan in October 2018.

Lyon has thus far played only 2 T20 internationals and has been able to pick up just a single wicket in the 5 overs he has bowled.

#6 Usman Khawaja

Khawaja's aggressive style led to his maiden T20I call-up

The left-handed batsman made his T20I debut for Australia in the final match of the series against India. Opening the innings along with Shane Watson, Usman Khawaja scored a quick-fire 14 off 6 before losing his wicket to Ashish Nehra.

Khawaja was included in the WT20 squad of his nation due to his solid performances in the Big Bash League. Usman has represented Australia in 9 T20Is and has scored 241 runs at a strike-rate of 132.41. He played his last T20I in 2016 and has not been a part of the squad ever since; though he is one of the cornerstones of the current Australian Test side.

Usman Khawaja's aggressive batting style had attracted the Rising Pune Supergiant franchise as he played for the IPL franchise in 2016 and 2017.

#7 Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya is currently nursing an injury

Hardik Pandya, the Baroda all-rounder made his T20I debut for India in the year 2016 and established himself as one of the key all-rounders of the Indian team. Pandya made it to the Indian team based on his IPL performances for Mumbai Indians.

The all-rounder played all the 3 matches of the series. He did not get a chance to bat in the first match but picked up 2 vital wickets to halt Australia's march towards the target. He did not get an opportunity to bat in the entire series but made his presence felt by picking 1 wicket in the 4 overs he bowled in the remaining 2 matches.

Pandya was then included in the Asia Cup squad as well as the WT20 squad and is currently a regular for India in all 3 formats.

#8 Andrew Tye

Tye has proven himself to be a consistent death bowler

Andrew Tye made his international debut for Australia in the 2nd match of the T20 series and dismissed MS Dhoni on debut. Tye has never looked back ever since that series. The Australian pacer has picked up 33 wickets in the 22 T20I matches and is one of the most bankable bowlers in the shortest format of the game. Tye has a career-best performance of 4/23 in the T20Is.

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

He has been considered as a limited-overs format player and has never played a Test for Australia. Tye had a phenomenal IPL in 2018 and he would love to continue his fine form when Australia takes the field against India on 21st November at Brisbane.