5 players who made a successful transition from limited-overs cricket to Tests

Tests are considered to be the gold standard in the cricketing world and every player wants to make his mark in the longest format. While there are some cricketers who get early exposure in the Test arena, there are others who spend a long time playing the shorter formats before getting a taste of five-day cricket.

Making a transition from limited-overs cricket to Tests does not come easy and there are many instances of successful ODI and T20I players failing to perform in the longer version of the game. However, there are a few players who did well in Test cricket after spending a considerable amount of time in the shorter versions of the game

Here are 5 popular cricketers who made this successful transition:

5. Mitchell Johnson (Australia)

ODI Debut: 10 December 2005

Test Debut: 8 November 2007

Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson is arguably the most feared bowler to have played cricket in the past decade or so. This reputation of his was built primarily due to the way in which he tormented batsmen all around with his lethal brand of pace bowling in Test cricket.

However, almost two years before he emerged on the Test scene, Johnson made his ODI debut against New Zealand in the 2005/06 Chappell-Hadlee Trophy. The left-arm pacer performed well in 50-over cricket for quite a while before he earned his maiden call-up to the Australian Test team.

Since then, Mitchell Johnson started playing regularly in the longer format and became the spearhead of the Aussie pace attack late in his career.

4. Brendon McCullum (New Zealand)

Brendon McCullum had to wait for a while before making a Test debut

ODI Debut: 17 January 2002

Test Debut: 10 March 2004

Despite batting lower down the order for a large part of his Test career, New Zealand's star cricketer Brendon McCullum ended his career with some impressive statistics. He also earned the privilege of being the only batsman from his country to have scored a triple century in the five-day format.

Prior to making his debut, though, McCullum already had a decent amount of ODI cricket behind him. The Kiwi made his one-day international debut against Australia during a triangular tournament in 2002, which also involved South Africa.

Brendon McCullum's Test and limited-overs career went hand-in-hand ever since and he later became one of New Zealand's greatest captains of all time.

3. David Warner (Australia)

David Warner made a sensational debut in T20Is

T20I Debut: 11 January 2009

Test Debut: 1 December 2011

David Warner has been Australia's No. 1 Test opener for quite a while now and he only seems to be getting better with every passing year. His ability to get after the bowling from the word go has established him as one of the most dangerous opening batsmen in world cricket at present.

Warner's talent, however, first came to the fore on his T20I debut against South Africa almost 3 years prior to his first Test appearance. The southpaw hammered 89 off just 43 balls in a 52-run victory for the Aussies. He also made an early impact in his Test career as he scored a century in his first series against New Zealand.

The 29-year old Warner is currently one of the mainstays of the Australian batting across all three formats.

2. Virat Kohli (India)

Kohli was an ODI star for India before debuting in Tests

ODI debut: 18 August 2008

Test Debut: 20 June 2011

Virat Kohli is easily one of the best batsmen in world cricket at the moment and has proved his mettle in all forms of international cricket so far. Apart from struggling on a couple of tours, Kohli has been largely successful as a Test batsman in the 41 matches that he has played.

It took the Delhi lad a little under 3 years of limited-overs cricket before he graduated to the longest format. In this time, though, Virat Kohli had established himself as one of the most consistent batsmen in the ODI team. He finally broke into the Test squad for India's tour to West Indies in 2011 where he made his debut.

Currently, Kohli is not only the premier batsman in the Indian team for Tests but has also been its skipper for more than a year.

1. Adam Gilchrist (Australia)

Gilchrist established himself in the Australian ODI team way before his Test debut

ODI Debut: 25 October 1996

Test Debut: 5 November 1999

Adam Gilchrist is arguably the best wicket-keeper batsman of all time in and also perhaps the most successful No. 7 batsman in the history of the game in Tests. Gilly, as he is fondly known, has a run-tally of 5570 runs in 96 matches and he scored his runs at a phenomenal strike rate of above 80.

Before making a plunge into the Test arena, though, Gilchrist represented Australia in ODIs for a span of more than 3 years. During this phase, the left-hander established his reputation as one of the most dangerous opening batsmen in 50-over cricket. He got his opportunity in five-day cricket after legendary Aussie keeper Ian Healy hung his boots in 1999.

From there, Gilchrist went to become an integral part of Australia's golden era in international cricket.