Where Are They Now: Indian team when Virat Kohli made his debut

Even as Virat Kohli takes the field to lead India on Saturday to face England at Trent Bridge, at one corner of his mind, he will recall a nervous 19-year-old who had on this date in 2008 had stepped on to the field for the first time for his country to take on Sri Lanka at Dambulla in an ODI in 2008.

It was to be the start of a journey, which began with not a lot of promise but with time grew into something really big and a decade later, Kohli finds himself as arguably the best batsman in the world in all three formats of the game.

Here's a look at that team when Kohli made his debut and what some of its members are up to now:

Gautam Gambhir

After India had decided to not go forward with Sourav Ganguly at the top of the order in late 2007, they needed someone they could bank on moving forward. The team put its trust on 26-year-old Delhi left-hander Gautam Gambhir to carry the mantle forward.

The southpaw made a second-ball duck in that game, but in the course of the next three years would become a permanent fixture at the top of the order for India.

But post the 2011 World Cup, form and technical deficiencies proved to be his downfall and he could never really get back to that being the consistent batsman that once was for India.

Virat Kohli

The right-hander, who had led the side to the Under-19 World Cup triumph, a few months ago in Kuala Lumpur, had come into the side on the back of some impressive performances with the India 'A' side in Australia.

Kohli's batting abilities were put to the sword immediately and he fell for 12 on the day, trapped lbw of the bowling of Nuwan Kulasekara.

And as we all know, he is currently the captain of the Indian cricket team in all three formats of the game.

Yuvraj was India's top-scorer with 23 runs to his name

Suresh Raina

Batting at Number 3 that day was Suresh Raina, who had made a comeback to the side on the back of a fine IPL season with the Chennai Super Kings, where he had shined at that spot for his side.

On that day, however, he couldn't get going with the bat making a mere 17 runs, becoming Kulasekara's 2nd victim. Raina's career since then has seen a lot of ups-and-downs and especially, in the last three years he has been a temporary member of the limited-overs setup as a whole with India investing in other youngsters.

Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh top-scored for India on the day with 23 runs to his name before getting bowled by Ajanta Mendis. This was the start of a new phase in the left-hander's career, one which would see him become of the lynchpins of the side until the 2011 World Cup.

Post that, as was the case with Gambhir, Yuvraj's career went downhill but for a completely different reason. The left-hander was diagnosed with cancer post the event and he would never be the same player post that. He last played for India during the 2017 tour of West Indies.

Rohit Sharma

Another relatively new member of the squad, Rohit Sharma had impressed one-and-all following his exploits with the bat during the CB series finals and also in the IPL. Batting at 5 that day, he made 19.

However, the middle-order was never going to be the place where he would make his mark as five years on, MS Dhoni pushed him up the order to open the batting and that decision completely transformed his cricketing career.

He is currently a part of the Indian side in the limited-over setup but not so much in the longer format.

Dhoni would become one of the country's greatest limited-overs players

MS Dhoni(C&WK)

MS Dhoni was just into his first year as the captain of the limited-overs side and already in his short time, had achieved quite a bit as captain of the side, leading India to their first-ever series win in Australia earlier in the year.

On this day, in 2008, he made a mere six runs before falling to Mendi, but over the course of the next decade, he was to become undeniably India's greatest ever limited-overs captain and also one of its best ever finishers with the bat in hand.

He retired from Tests in 2014 but continues to play in ODIs and T20Is.

Harbhajan Singh

India's premier off-spinner at the time, Harbhajan Singh had an off day, both with bat and ball, making 12 with the former and going wicketless in his four overs with the latter.

The next few years would turn out to be one of his best phases as a cricketer, but his journey also went southwards post that, as he fell out of favour after the 2011 World Cup win, replaced by Ravichandran Ashwin and could not quite make it back to the top of the pedestal.

Pathan was in the team for a few years but lost his way later

Irfan Pathan

India's investment in a seam-bowling all-rounder began with Irfan Pathan, who fell to the guile of Muttiah Muralidharan for 7 and then went wicketless in his seven overs with the ball.

Pathan was persisted with by the management for a few more years but post-2013, he fell out of favour with them and has not played a game for India in the last five years.

Zaheer Khan

The left-armer, one of the experienced heads in the squad was making return of some sorts after having missed a large part of the matches at the start of the year owing to injuries.

On this day, he too went wicketless in his seven overs, but over the course of the next couple of years, he was to become the leader of India's bowling arsenal until the 2011 World Cup, after which his career, too, a nosedive. He retired from all forms of international cricket in 2015.

Patel was the best bowler on the day for India

Munaf Patel

The third seamer in the side, Munaf was the pick of the bowlers for India on the day, taking figures of 2 for 32 in nine overs. He too formed a key part of the Indian bowling in the next few years and was hailed one of the 'unsung heroes' of India's 2011 World Cup win.

His career, however, never picked up after that.

Pragyan Ojha

The left-arm spinner was picked after a decent outing in the Indian Premier League and played along with Harbhajan as the second spinner.

His career, however, had more happier days in the whites as compared to coloured clothing and he last represented India in limited-overs cricket in 2012.

He was also banned from bowling in 2014 after the ICC found his action to be illegal.