India's shocking 0-2 defeat to South Africa in the recent Test series has left the team reeling.
Earlier this week, the visiting team handed India their heaviest loss in Test cricket, defying expectations. It marked South Africa's initial series triumph in the subcontinent in a quarter-century and the host nation's another home failure in just 12 months after a 12-year unbeaten run.
The winning rhythm established in the last several months has almost disappeared and the futures of multiple squad members - as well as team coach the coach - are now uncertain.
Early Optimism Vanishes
The emerging side's impressive performance in England this summer, under a different skipper, suggested a smooth transition following the almost concurrent exits of stalwarts Ashwin, Sharma, and Kohli.
A straightforward 2-0 triumph over West Indies at the commencement of the home season boosted that belief, until the South Africans turned up and handed out a fell blow.
India were somewhat unlucky that leader Shubman Gill suffered an injury very early in the opening Test and did not participate again in the series. Yet that neither explains nor absolves the squad of the well below standard display in both Tests against the opposition.
Some big reputations were damaged, and multiple individuals eyeing long red-ball careers were exposed as still inadequate - in skill or mindset - for the Test cricket.
A Troubling Pattern
This represented the second series sweep at home endured by India in just more than a year. Last year, unfancied New Zealand had secured a surprising 3-0 win which effectively cost the hosts a place in the Test championship finale.
The latest loss to the Proteas could damage the team's prospects of making the showpiece of this season too.
After being third in the Test championship standings ahead of the matches, the side have fallen to fifth place. Even though nine additional matches are still to come, a majority are against Australia. Usually, competing on home turf would be a significant benefit - even when facing the strong Australian side. Yet the disasters against New Zealand and South Africa offer no room for such comfort.
Reasons for the Slump
India's frailty in red-ball cricket has been clearly revealed. However, why the team have performed so poorly in Tests at home recently is still bewildering.
In the 21st century, the Indian cricket team were considered invincible in red-ball cricket at home. In demanding climates and on pitches that helped spin and benefited their players, the hosts dominated all comers. A rare failure, like in 2012-13 against the English, was considered an aberration.
Now, the team look to be beatable on home turf.
Facing the Kiwis in 2024 and South Africa currently, India were beaten at their own game. The tracks they curated to favor their game backfired spectacularly, as rivals capitalized on them more skillfully, beating the Indian batters and bowlers when it was most crucial.
What Happened?
Some suggest that the Indian team is failing in home conditions because domestic pitches have been modified from spinning tracks to pace-friendly pitches to train the squad to do well in foreign conditions.
A few mention that the Indian Premier League (IPL), in which several international stars participate, has taken away the unfamiliarity and challenge subcontinental pitches would pose to them earlier.
Even though there is a degree of accuracy in both analyses, it fails to account for why India's performances on home soil have witnessed such a dramatic drop.
Multiple Failings
Most former players diagnose a complicated issue, not just a couple of reasons.
Analysts and squad members have pointed to multiple deficiencies post India's humiliating loss to the Proteas: not respecting the foe, lack of preparation, questionable picks, arrogance, constant chopping and changing of the starting eleven, and favoring limited-overs over the longer format.
This was obvious in the displays of the squad.
Players like Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom high hopes were held, were punished for their lack of application, while Sai Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were looking to cement their spot in the side - came up short in technique and temperament, paying a heavy price for their casual attitude.
Just a few - Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep, Siraj and Sundar - lived up to their ability and standing - but not well enough to claim wins.
Leadership Under Fire
The post-mortem also included not only the cricketers - the selection panel and coaching staff were also criticized, spurred on by upset followers and critical former players. In the spotlight of the criticism was mentor Gambhir.
In his post-series press
