Phil Hughes is a little dasher of a batsman who throws everything he can at loose balls outside off stump and often wears a devilish grin, like a left-handed version of Doug Walters.

Walters retired in 1981 with a fine record of 5357 runs at an average of 48.26 from 74 matches including 15 hundreds.

And although his swashbuckling style of cutting and pulling won him many fans, some wondered if could have taken his talents a little further in his career.

Hughes faces a challenging time as the 24-year-old battles a poor start to the series against India with an Ashes series to follow in July.

In three innings so far Hughes has scored six, a duck and 19.

His first innings in the second Test in Hyderabad on Saturday summed up his troubles.

Cricinfo stats show the No.3 batsman hit four boundaries off the quicks then dotted it up for 23 consecutive balls against the spinners before falling caught behind to offspinner Ravi Ashwin.

Hughes was dropped in November 2011 and returned a year later with a better technique and hit 233 runs at an average of 46.60 in the three-Test series against Sri Lanka.

While his biggest test of character is to come against England’s pace attack, the South Australia strokeplayer may find the patience of Australia’s selection panel wears thin if he flat-lines it through the four-match series in India.

Reserve batsman Usman Khawaja is the logical option for a recall if Hughes was to be dropped during the India series, with No.5 Michael Clarke and No.4 Shane Watson both going up one slot.

It would certainly add spice to Australia’s warm-up matches in England before the battle begins in Trent Bridge on July 10.

There’s a strong argument to keep faith in Hughes. However the axing of paceman Mitchell Starc after a wicket-less performance in the first Test against India in Chennai indicates John Inverarity’s selection panel are capable of making swift decisions.