5 players who made their international debuts with Ashish Nehra but faded away

One of the last few remnants of the glorious 1990s, Ashish Nehra will bow out of all forms of cricket at the end of the opening T20I between India and New Zealand at his home ground at Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi on November 1. Although there is considerable doubt as to whether he will take the field in his last match, the left-armer's retirement brings the curtain down on what has been a fairly productive career.

Since playing his first game for India during the 1999 Asian Test Championship, Nehra has represented the country in as many as 163 matches across all three formats and picked up 235 wickets thus far. The 38-year old's extensive career span can be discerned from the fact that he has played under two eras of captains, from Mohammad Azharuddin to Virat Kohli.

In chronological order of their debuts, let us take a look at five players who made their international debuts alongside Nehra, and faded into obscurity soon after. It is pertinent to note that the list also includes cricketers who played their first matches in a particular form of the game in the same series that Nehra made his maiden appearance.

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#5 Eric Upashantha (Sri Lanka)

Upashantha could not find many opportunities at the highest level despite a stellar domestic record

At a time when both India and Sri Lanka were starved of reliable fast bowlers, the two teams threw a pacer each into the firing line during the 1999 Asian Test Championship.

While Nehra was included in the Indian team at the insistence of skipper Azharuddin, the Lankans fielded a rookie, 26-year old Eric Upashantha. The right-armer who generated slippery pace from a deceptive action had made his ODI debut three years before receiving his maiden Test opportunity.

With India winning the toss and opting to bat first, Upashantha was made to toil long and hard under the unrelenting heat by the top-order batsmen. By the time Sourav Ganguly offered a simple catch to Ruwan Kalpage and gifted Upashantha his first Test wicket, the Indians had already racked up a formidable total.

On the other hand, Nehra picked up his maiden Test scalp (that of Marvan Atapattu) early in the Sri Lankan innings. However, the hosts came within touching distance of their opposition's first-innings total, and the Test eventually meandered to a dull draw.

While Nehra played 16 more Tests, Upashantha was able to participate in only one more. The tendency to concede runs aplenty saw the Sri Lankan pacer consigned to the wilderness. The seamer's second Test match also marked his final appearance at the international level.

#4 Avishka Gunawardene (Sri Lanka)

Gunawardene could not keep his place in what was a strong Sri Lankan batting lineup

After securing a draw against India in the preceding match, another stalemate against the much more dangerous Pakistan team was enough to propel Sri Lanka into the final of the 1999 Asian Test Championship. On a surprisingly balanced surface at Lahore, the hosts won the toss and opted to make first use of the pitch.

The visitors made as many as six changes to the team that had played in the previous game against India. While Eric Upashantha was one of the four casualties in the bowling department, the unavailability of the experienced duo of Aravinda de Silva and Arjuna Ranatunga offered an opportunity for the uncapped Avishka Gunawardene.

Gunawardene opened the innings alongside Russell Arnold and made his intentions pretty clear right from the outset. A couple of blazing shots from the right-hander played a key part in helping Sri Lanka earn a draw.

However, he struggled to cope with the magic of Wasim Akram in the final, and soon found himself on the sidelines in Tests. Even though he played four more Tests, the dynamic batsman was rapidly pigeon-holed as an ODI specialist. In all, he played 61 ODIs and only six Tests.

#3 Imran Nazir (Pakistan)

Imran Nazir was once hailed as the most promising batting talent in Pakistan

In the same match in which Gunawardene made his Test debut, Pakistan introduced an aggressive top-order batsman, Imran Nazir. Not even 18 years old then, the exuberant teenager walked into a team that contained several superstars like Wasim Akram, Saqlain Mushtaq, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Saeed Anwar.

Having already won against India in the opening match of the 1999 Asian Test Championship, Pakistan had to make do without Ijaz Ahmed for the clash against Sri Lanka. Occupying the vital No. 3 spot, Nazir instantly made everyone forget the seasoned campaigner, with a fiery 87-ball 64. He was inexplicably demoted to No. 5 in the second innings, and the match ended in a stalemate.

Although Nazir continued to show enormous potential and was touted as the next big thing in Pakistani cricket, the right-hander lacked the temperament to go the distance. Recurring issues with arthritis only made matters worse.

Although he featured in a sizeable number of games in the shorter formats, Nazir's Test career comprised of just eight appearances.

#2 Ashok Dinda (India)

Dinda was shunted out of India's T20I team despite possessing a reasonable record

Upon earning plaudits from the legendary Allan Donald, who even claimed that the Indian seamer reminded him of himself, a lot was expected of Ashok Dinda. However, at 33, his international career appears to be all but over, as plenty of younger and quicker fast bowlers have jumped ahead in the pecking order.

Not many would know that Dinda made his T20I debut in the same match that Nehra did. While the latter has gone on to play 25 more T20I matches, Dinda has played just eight more so far. However, the right-armer has picked up 17 wickets at a good bowling average of 14.41.

The two fast bowlers played together in T20Is for the first time during the opening game of the two-match series between India and Sri Lanka at Nagpur. Both pacers endured a forgettable match as Kumar Sangakkara and Chamara Kapugedera flayed them to all parts of the ground.

The visitors amassed a humongous total of 215 for the loss of just five wickets and won the game quite easily.

#1 Sudeep Tyagi (India)

Tyagi's international career took a nosedive after just five appearances

Sandwiched between the emergence of Praveen Kumar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Uttar Pradesh seamer Sudeep Tyagi had a brief tryst with the Indian team in the 2009-2010 season. But, like the vast majority of fast bowlers from the country, the right-armer faded into obscurity without fulfilling his potential.

Tyagi donned the Indian jersey for the first time during the second match of the bilateral series between India and Sri Lanka at Mohali. Upon gaining entry into the playing 11 in the place of Dinda, he bowled at more than ten runs per over in his short spell.

Extra Cover: Ashish Nehra (1999-2017): The journey in pictures

India chased a 200-plus target successfully to emerge as the victors. That game remains his only appearance in T20I matches. After an underwhelming outing in the third ODI against South Africa at Ahmedabad, his international career came to a grinding halt.

Even though it has been over seven years now since his last match for India, the 30-year old is in no mood to throw the towel in just yet.