The Indian cricket team's surprising 0-2 loss to South Africa in the just finished red-ball series has sent shockwaves through the squad.
Earlier this week, the visiting team gave India a record defeat in terms of runs, against all odds. This represented South Africa's initial series triumph in the subcontinent in a quarter-century and India's second home series loss in just a year after a 12-year invincible streak.
The positive trajectory built over the past six months has largely dissipated and the prospects of several players - as well as team coach the coach - are under scrutiny.
Initial Hope Vanishes
The emerging side's commendable display in the UK this season, under a different skipper, pointed to a successful handover following the close together departures of stalwarts Ashwin, Sharma, and Kohli.
A facile 2-0 victory over West Indies at the start of the home campaign enhanced that perception, before the South Africans came and inflicted a fell blow.
The home side were a tad unfortunate that leader Shubman Gill got injured early on in the first Test and was ruled out in the contest. However, that fails to account for the side of the highly disappointing performance in the two games against the opposition.
Some big reputations suffered, and multiple individuals eyeing extended tenures in Tests were shown as not yet good enough - in skill or mindset - for the longer format.
A Troubling Pattern
This represented the second clean sweep on home soil suffered by India in just a year. In 2024, little-fancied New Zealand had pulled off a remarkable 3-0 victory which essentially denied India a berth in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The latest loss to South Africa threatens to derail the team's prospects of making the decider of this edition also.
Previously ranked third in the WTC rankings ahead of the matches, the side have fallen to the fifth spot. Even though nine further games are remaining, half of these are against Australia. Typically, performing in familiar conditions would be a major plus - including against the strong Australian side. But the failures against New Zealand and the Proteas offer no room for that confidence.
Causes of the Fall
India's weakness in Test cricket has been badly exposed. However, why the team have struggled so much in Test matches at home recently is continues to confuse.
Since the turn of the century, India were regarded as impregnable in red-ball cricket in home conditions. In demanding climates and on tracks that favored spin bowling and benefited their players, India faced little challenge. The occasional loss, like in the 2012-13 season against England, was seen as an anomaly.
Today, India look to be vulnerable at home.
Against New Zealand in 2024 and South Africa currently, the home side were defeated by their own tactics. The surfaces they curated to suit their strengths backfired spectacularly, as the opposition used them more effectively, surpassing the Indian batters and bowlers when it counted the most.
The Core Issue
Some suggest that India is struggling in home conditions because domestic pitches have been modified from turners to fast tracks to get cricketers ready to do well overseas.
A few mention that the Indian Premier League (IPL), in which several international stars participate, has reduced the surprise and difficulty subcontinental pitches would pose to them before.
Even though there is a degree of accuracy in each argument, it still does not explain the reason India's performances on home soil have witnessed such a staggering decline.
Multiple Failings
The majority of ex-cricketers point to a multi-faceted challenge, not only one or two factors.
Experts and participants have highlighted several failings following India's embarrassing defeat to the South Africans: not respecting the foe, inadequate readiness, flawed selections, overconfidence, frequent changes of the team lineup, and prioritising limited-overs over the longer format.
This was obvious in the displays of the team.
Members like Pant and Jaiswal, of whom so much was expected, were punished for their carelessness, while Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were aiming to establish their position in the squad - were found wanting in ability and attitude, paying a heavy price for their nonchalant approach.
Only a handful - Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Sundar - lived up to their skill and fame - but not sufficiently to win matches.
Leadership Under Fire
The post-mortem also included just the players - selectors and support staff were also criticized, driven by disappointed supporters and vocal past stars. In the spotlight of the scrutiny was team coach Gautam Gambhir.
In his post-series press
