India scripted a historic series win over Australia in their 2020-21 tour with a 2-1 scoreline after winning the series decider at Gabba, their second consecutive series win in Australia. We look back at the series and see how the players have fared after that event.
The series kicked off with a day/night Test match in Adelaide, where India put on one of their worst batting displays ever in the second innings. The visitors were bundled out for 36, and the Aussies chased a meagre target of 90 in only 21 overs.
Things looked bleak for the Asian side after suffering a humiliating defeat and losing some of their key players going into the second Test. However, an inspired Indian side bounced back in the remaining three Test matches. India won the second Test at the MCG and shared the spoils with the hosts at the SCG. In the final Test match at Gabba, a depleted Indian side chased down 329 in the fourth innings to seal the series.
Also read: India's squad for the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Ajinkya Rahane
Rahane was the stand-in captain of the side for the last three matches and was at the helm for both of India's wins during the series. Since he last played for India in July 2023, he has been active in the domestic circuit with Mumbai.
Mayank Agarwal
Agarwal has not played for India since March 2022. Like Rahane, he has been out of the scheme of things for a while in the Test setup due to inconsistencies. He has been leading Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25.
Rishabh Pant
Pant became an overnight sensation after he hit the winning runs at Gabba, which will live long in the memories of the Indian fans. He sealed his spot as the first-choice wicketkeeper across formats. As the stars were aligning for the stumper, he faced a horrific car accident in December 2022, which kept him out of action until February 2024. He is now back in the side as one of the integral members of the team once again.
Cheteshwar Pujara
Pujara is also among the heroes of the previous Australia tour who is not favoured by the selection committee anymore. He last played for India in June 2023 and has been involved with Sussex in the English County and Saurashtra in the Indian domestic circuit, having recently recorded his 18th first-class double century.
KL Rahul
Rahul battled injuries during 2021 and 2022 before being brought back to the side for all formats towards the end of 2022. He has had an unfruitful 2024, averaging 29.44 across the three formats, and was dropped for the second Test against New Zealand in Pune.
Wriddhiman Saha
The rise of Pant in 2021 meant that it was the start of the end of Saha’s India career. His last Test match came in December 2021 and he has been out of favour ever since, including the period when Pant was out injured as the management preferred KS Bharat and Dhruv Jurel to take the gloves.
Prithvi Shaw
Shaw took the world by storm with his aggression and intensity with the bat in Tests, scoring 237 runs in his first three innings at a strike rate of 94.04. However, his Australia tour in 2020 exposed his technical flaws and has found it difficult to come back to the side ever since. He played for Northants in the English county earlier in the year and has been a regular member of the Mumbai team until he was omitted from the squad for the most recent round of the Ranji Trophy.
Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill played an important hand of 91 during India’s chase at Gabba. Today, he is one of the first names on the team sheet in ODIs and Tests, while he has found himself in and out of the T20I side.
Virat Kohli
Kohli captained the first Test for India during the tour before withdrawing from the series due to paternal duties. He later went on to lead the side to famous victories at Lord’s and The Oval in the 2021 England tour. He handed over the captaincy to Rohit Sharma in all formats in 2022. He retired from T20Is after the T20 World Cup in 2024 and is currently struggling with his Test form.
Ravichandran Ashwin
Ashwin’s presence in the Indian Test side has been continual over the years despite being chopped in and out in the other formats. He became only the second Indian to take over 500 Test wickets after Anil Kumble. He has played both games of the ongoing series against New Zealand so far.
Ravindra Jadeja
Jadeja's all-round abilities have proved to be immense for India in Tests across countries. He has scored over 1,000 runs and taken over 75 wickets in the last 19 matches, and he is in the squad for the next Australia tour as well.
Hanuma Vihari
Vihari played a crucial role in saving the Test match for India in the Sydney Test despite fighting a hamstring injury. He played his last Test match in July 2022 against England and has been out of contention ever since. He is currently playing for Andhra in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season.
Navdeep Saini
After making his debut in the Sydney Test, Saini went on to play only one more match, which was India’s next Test match at Gabba. His two Test matches were not particularly memorable, averaging 43.00 with the ball. He has not been in the reckoning ever since, owing to his inconsistencies in the domestic circuit. He has, however, been picked as a reserve bowler for the next Australia tour.
Umesh Yadav
After India’s series win down under, Yadav was also part of the England tour in 2021, where India famously took the 2-1 lead during the first trip. He played three Tests in each of 2021, 2022 and 2023. With the emergence of Siraj and other pacers, Yadav eventually lost his place after the World Test Championship 2021-23 final.
Mohammed Shami
Shami has been one of the regular members of the ODI and Test side over the last two years. He was one of the key players in India’s unbeaten run to the final in the ODI World Cup 2023. After the World Cup, he suffered an injury, which has kept him out of action since November 2023. He is also left out of the squad for the upcoming Australia tour.
Rohit Sharma
Rohit became the India captain across all formats after the India tour of South Africa in 2021-22. He led India to the semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2022, the final of the ODI World Cup 2023 and the title of the T20 World Cup 2024. Along with Kohli, Rohit also retired from T20Is after the World Cup. He will be leading the Test side for the first time down under later in the year.
Shardul Thakur
Shardul was among the players who played an important role in scripting India’s famous win at Gabba. He, alongside Washington Sundar, stitched an important partnership that brought India back into the game in the first innings. He also guided Mumbai to a championship in Ranji Trophy 2023-24 with his all-round performances during the knockout phase and is currently trying to make his way back into the India setup across formats.
Washington Sundar
Sundar did not play any Test cricket in 2022 and 2023 despite showing a lot of promise in 2021. After a series of impressive performances in the domestic circuit, he was called up for the New Zealand series. In his first Test in over three years, he ran through the Kiwi batting lineup with match figures of 11/115, and he also scored 39 runs with the bat. He has also booked his spot for the Australia tour in November.
