With the departure of Virat Kohli and injury of Mohammed Shami, India will be forced into changes for the second Test at the MCG.

Uncapped options in India’s squad include Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj and Navdeep Saini; should they be called upon in Melbourne or further down the line in the Test series, they will have to defy what much of recent history tells us: that making a debut for India in Australia can be a difficult affair.

Five India players have made their Test debuts Down Under this century. Here’s a look at how they fared:

Irfan Pathan – 2003

At the tender age of 19, Irfan Pathan was handed his international debut in the toughest of circumstances, taking the new ball against the great Australians in a famous win for India at Adelaide. Australia batted first and Pathan didn’t have to wait long for his first wicket, finding the outside edge of Matthew Hayden for 12, but a Ricky Ponting double century punished the visitors, with Pathan returning figures of 1-136 from 27 overs as Australia finished on 556. Cue a monster 303-run stand between Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, 6-41 from Ajit Agarkar and a successful chase of 230 anchored by The Wall himself. Pathan’s most memorable Test display in Australia would come in 2008 when his five wickets and 74 runs in the match took India to a 72-run win at the WACA.

Vinay Kumar – 2012

Right-arm seamer Vinay Kumar was given a go in the third Test at Perth as India suffered terribly on the 2011/12 tour of Australia, eventually falling to a 4-0 defeat that followed on from a 4-0 loss to England months earlier. A rampant David Warner took Kumar and the rest of the attack to the cleaners with a 159-ball 180, with the debutant going at nearly six an over. Kumar captured the wicket of Michael Hussey but it was to be an innings win for Australia. He played the last of his 31 ODIs in November 2013, but his showing in Perth remains his only Test appearance.

Karn Sharma – 2014

A leggie who had made his name in the IPL for Sunrisers Hyderabad, Karn Sharma landed a Test debut in the 2014 Adelaide Test, jumping ahead of Ravi Ashwin to take the spot of the sole spinner in India’s attack. It proved to be an ill-judged move, with Sharma following up figures of 2-143 from 33 overs in the first innings with 2-95 from 16 overs in the second. While he removed Warner twice, on both occasions it was after the left-hander had got to his hundred. His opposite number Nathan Lyon took 12 wickets in a 48-run win for the Australians and Sharma hasn’t been seen in international cricket since.

KL Rahul – 2014

KL Rahul was called upon to make his debut in the 2014 Boxing Day Test and had a mare: two top-edges resulted in scores of 3 and 1. But Rahul revealed the truer side to his game in the following match, recording his maiden Test century at the SCG. Six years on, having established himself as a force against the white ball, will he land a spot in the India XI over the coming few Tests?

Mayank Agarwal – 2018

The standout debut on this list. Mayank Agarwal hit the ground running in Test cricket with scores of 76 and 42 at the MCG in 2018, helping India to a 137-run win. Another half-century followed in the SCG Test and Agarwal has gone from strength to strength since; two years on he has three Test tons and an average of 53.