The Indian cricket team's shocking 0-2 series loss to South Africa in the recently concluded red-ball series has left the team reeling.
In the final match, the visiting team handed India a record defeat in terms of runs, against all odds. It was the Proteas' initial series triumph in the subcontinent in a quarter-century and India's another home failure in just 12 months after a 12-year unbeaten run.
The winning rhythm built over the past six months has almost disappeared and the futures of multiple squad members - including head coach the coach - are now uncertain.
Initial Hope Fades Quickly
The emerging side's impressive performance in England this season, under a fresh leadership, indicated a seamless changeover after the close together retirements of stalwarts Ashwin, Sharma, and Virat Kohli.
A straightforward 2-0 victory over the Windies at the start of the home season enhanced that perception, before the South Africans came and inflicted a fell blow.
India were a tad unfortunate that skipper Gill suffered an injury very early in the initial match and was ruled out in the contest. But that does not excuse or justify the squad of the terribly sub-par showing in both Tests against South Africa.
Some big reputations suffered, and multiple individuals hoping for long red-ball careers were revealed to be still inadequate - in ability or temperament - for the format.
Worrying Trend
This was the second whitewash at home endured by the Indian team in just more than a year. Last year, underestimated the Kiwis had pulled off a surprising 3-0 triumph which essentially denied the hosts a berth in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The recent defeat to South Africa threatens to derail the team's prospects of reaching the final of this cycle also.
After being third in the Test championship standings ahead of the matches, India have fallen to number five. Although nine further games are remaining, five of these are against the Aussies. Typically, performing in familiar conditions would be a major plus - including against the strong Australian side. But the failures against New Zealand and South Africa offer no room for that confidence.
Roots of the Decline
India's frailty in red-ball cricket has been badly exposed. Nevertheless, why India have performed so poorly in Tests at home lately is continues to confuse.
Since the turn of the century, the Indian cricket team were seen as unbeatable in Test cricket at home. In hot, humid conditions and on tracks that helped spin and suited their batsmen and bowlers, the hosts faced little challenge. The odd series defeat, such as in the 2012-13 season against the English, was seen as an aberration.
Today, the team seem beatable at home.
Versus the Kiwis in 2024 and the Proteas currently, India were hoisted by their own petard. The surfaces they prepared to help their style backfired spectacularly, as opponents used them more effectively, surpassing India's batsmen and bowlers when it counted the most.
What Happened?
A few experts argue that the Indian team is failing at home because local wickets have been changed from spinning tracks to quick wickets to get cricketers ready to do well abroad.
Others highlight that the domestic T20 league, in which numerous foreign cricketers participate, has removed the surprise and difficulty home wickets would present to them before.
Even though there is a degree of accuracy in both analyses, it fails to account for why India's performances on home soil have experienced such a dramatic drop.
Various Shortcomings
Most former players point to a multi-faceted challenge, not only a few causes.
Critics and players have identified multiple deficiencies post India's embarrassing defeat to the South Africans: underestimating the opposition, poor preparation, flawed selections, arrogance, regular alterations of the team lineup, and prioritising white-ball over red-ball cricket.
This was evident in the performances of the team.
Cricketers such as Pant and Jaiswal, of whom great things were anticipated, paid for their nonchalance, while Sai Sudarshan, Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were looking to cement their place in the team - came up short in technique and temperament, suffering the consequences for their lackadaisical method.
Only a handful - Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep, Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar - did justice to their skill and fame - but inadequately to claim wins.
Management Questions
The post-mortem also included just the players - team selectors and backroom team were also under fire, spurred on by distraught fans and critical former players. Under focus of the examination was mentor Gambhir.
In his post-series press
