Indian players who missed the most Tests before making a comeback

#3 Piyush Chawla (49 Tests)

Touted as the next big thing after snaring Sachin Tendulkar with a googly in a Challenger Trophy match in 2006, Piyush Chawla was fast-tracked into the Indian Test team to form an ideal replacement once Anil Kumble left the stage. However, the diminutive leg spinner, barring patches of good form, turned out to be a damp squib on the Indian colours.

He made his Test debut in 2006 against England, picking up the wicket of Andrew Flintoff, before he was dropped for a period of two years, not being able to force his way into the side with Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh already reprising the role of the two main spinners. Another opportunity fell in his lap in 2008, but two wickets is all he could manage.

He made yet another return in December 2012, with the selectors falling back on him for a leg-spinning option, but the now 28-year old, who managed to pick up four wickets, wasn’t selected again in the Test whites, although he made sporadic appearances in limited-overs, including being part of the 2011 World Cup winning squad.