4 players who debuted with Virat Kohli in T20Is, but faded away soon

Indian captain Virat Kohli is breaking record after record and is on his way to becoming maybe the greatest batsman of all time. His record in chases is something others have not even come close to and he is on the verge of breaking a lot more records as the years pass.

He won India the 2008 U-19 World Cup and then went on to debut for India and though he did not have a decent start to his career he went on to establish himself as an ODI star.

His T20I debut came against Zimbabwe in 2010. A few other players debuted around the same time in T20Is but could not manage to make their mark as the years progressed and they faded away.

Here are few such names that debuted around Virat Kohli in T20Is but faded away too soon:

Naman Ojha (Debut June 2010, Last Played June 2010)

Naman Ojha is a household name in the IPL because he has been playing for quite a few years but he has never been able to establish himself at the top most level. He was always behind in the pecking order, being a wicket-keeper in the times of MS Dhoni. His batting also improved as he progressed and he showed sparks of brilliance for the Rajasthan Royals in the second season.

He was included as a backup wicket-keeper for the Indian team in 2010 against Zimbabwe when the selectors decided to rest MS Dhoni and played three games on the tour. One of them was a T20, one of only two T20Is he has played so far in his career.

He failed to impress, mustering just 12 runs from the two games and was done away with after that. He returned to play a one-off Test against Sri Lanka in 2015 in Colombo, but hasn't played for India since then.

His days in the IPL have also become numbered - this year he played only one game, for the Delhi Daredevils throughout the season as the team had the services of Rishabh Pant.

Piyush Chawla (Debut May 2010, Last Played Dec 2012)

Piyush Chawla during the IPL 2018

The diminutive leg-spinner has been in the domestic circuit for a very long time. He made waves when he dismissed Sachin Tendulkar with a googly in the Challenger Trophy in 2006 and went on to play for India that very year. He was a teenager and did not have a good outing against England.

However, he managed to be part of the squad in the 2007 World T20 (although he did not play a game) and went on to play as the primary leg-spinner in the 2011 World Cup sidelining Amit Mishra.

His first T20I for India came during the 2010 World T20 against South Africa where he had a decent outing picking up one wicket for 27 runs. However he did not play many T20Is, and his last game in the shortest format for India came against England in 2012.

Vinay Kumar (Debut May 2010, Last Played Oct 2013)

Vinay Kumar

R Vinay Kumar is a domestic legend for Karnataka but he has never been able to establish himself at the top most level. A medium pacer who relied more on subtle variation than pace, Vinay Kumar made his T20 debut for India against Sri Lanka at Gros Islet in 2010.

While he managed to play 31 ODIs for India, he could never establish himself as a long term prospect. He played just one Test match against Australia and a total of 9 T20Is where he picked up 10 wickets.

His erratic lines and tendency to leak runs at the death meant that the Indian team relied on other options as the years progressed and Vinay Kumar faded away.

Munaf Patel (Debut Jan 2011, Last Played Aug 2011)

Munaf Patel

He was one of the silent heroes of India's World Cup 2011 victory but sadly Munaf Patel lost his way after a promising start to his career. He made his T20I debut in early 2011 just seven months after Virat Kohli and was identified to be a potentially vital cog for the team but things did not work out.

He made his debut for the Indian team way back in 2006 in both ODIs and Tests but had to wait until January 2011 to first play T20Is. His career in the shortest format was very short as he played a total of just three games debuting against South Africa in Durban just before the World Cup and playing his last game against England in Manchester that year itself.

He hasn't played a single game for India since 2011.