The Indian cricket team's surprising 0-2 series loss to South Africa in the recently concluded red-ball series has left the team reeling.
Earlier this week, South Africa inflicted upon India their heaviest loss in Test cricket, against all odds. It was the Proteas' maiden series victory in India in two and a half decades and India's another home failure in just a year after a 12-year invincible streak.
The momentum established in the past six months has largely dissipated and the futures of several players - along with head mentor the coach - are now uncertain.
Early Optimism Disappears
The new-look squad's strong showing in the UK this summer, under a fresh leadership, pointed to a smooth transition after the almost concurrent retirements of stalwarts R Ashwin, Sharma, and Kohli.
A straightforward 2-0 victory over West Indies at the beginning of the home campaign strengthened that view, before the South Africans arrived to deliver a fell blow.
India were a tad unfortunate that leader Gill got injured quickly in the opening Test and was ruled out in the series. Yet that neither explains nor absolves the team of the highly disappointing performance in both Tests against South Africa.
Several established players suffered, and multiple individuals hoping for long red-ball careers were revealed to be not yet good enough - in skill or mindset - for the longer format.
A Troubling Pattern
This represented the second clean sweep at home suffered by India in just a year. Last year, little-fancied New Zealand had achieved a staggering 3-0 win which effectively cost the hosts a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The fresh failure to the Proteas threatens to derail the team's chances of making the showpiece of this edition also.
From number three in the WTC table before the series, India have dropped to the fifth spot. Even though nine more Tests are remaining, five of these are against Australia. Typically, competing on home turf would be a significant benefit - even against the mighty Aussies. But the debacles against New Zealand and the Proteas provide no basis for such comfort.
Causes of the Fall
India's frailty in Test cricket has been clearly revealed. That said, why the team have fared so badly in Test matches on home soil in recent times is still bewildering.
Since the turn of the century, India were regarded as invincible in Test cricket in home conditions. Under sweltering weather and on tracks that favored spin bowling and suited their batsmen and bowlers, India dominated all comers. The odd series defeat, such as in the 2012-13 season against the English, was viewed as an anomaly.
Today, the team appear to be easy pickings at home.
Against the Kiwis in 2024 and South Africa currently, India were beaten at their own game. The tracks they prepared to suit their strengths failed miserably, as opponents exploited them better, beating the home team's players when it counted the most.
What's Gone Wrong?
Some suggest that the Indian team is struggling at home because home surfaces have been modified from spinning tracks to pace-friendly pitches to train the squad to do well in foreign conditions.
Others highlight that the Indian Premier League (IPL), in which numerous foreign cricketers participate, has taken away the surprise and difficulty home wickets would pose to them before.
Even though there is some truth in both analyses, it still does not explain the reason India's performances at home have seen such a sharp fall.
Several Weaknesses
Many past stars point to a multi-faceted challenge, not only a couple of reasons.
Analysts and squad members have identified multiple deficiencies after the team's embarrassing defeat to the South Africans: not respecting the foe, lack of preparation, flawed selections, excessive self-belief, frequent changes of the playing XI, and favoring white-ball over red-ball cricket.
This was evident in the performances of the squad.
Members such as Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom high hopes were held, paid for their nonchalance, while Sudarshan, Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were hoping to secure their place in the team - came up short in skill and mindset, suffering the consequences for their lackadaisical method.
Just a few - Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Siraj and Sundar - fulfilled their skill and fame - but inadequately to secure victories.
Coaching Scrutiny
The analysis targeted just the players - team selectors and backroom team were also questioned, spurred on by upset followers and vocal past stars. In the spotlight of the examination was mentor Gambhir.
At his post-series press
