The Indian cricket team's shocking 0-2 loss to South Africa in the just finished Test series has sent shockwaves through the squad.
In the final match, South Africa handed India a record defeat in terms of runs, against all odds. It marked the Proteas' initial series triumph in India in a quarter-century and India's second home series loss in just one year after a decade-plus without a home loss.
The momentum established in the past six months has largely dissipated and the futures of several players - as well as team coach the coach - are now uncertain.
Early Optimism Disappears
The young team's impressive performance in the UK this season, under a different skipper, pointed to a smooth transition after the near-simultaneous exits of stalwarts R Ashwin, Sharma, and Kohli.
An easy 2-0 triumph over West Indies at the beginning of the home campaign strengthened that view, till the Proteas came and inflicted a crushing loss.
India were somewhat unlucky that skipper Shubman Gill suffered an injury quickly in the initial match and was ruled out in the series. But that does not excuse or justify the team of the highly disappointing display in each match against South Africa.
Some big reputations took a hit, and a few members aspiring to extended tenures in Tests were revealed to be not yet good enough - in ability or temperament - for the longer format.
A Troubling Pattern
This was the second clean sweep in home conditions suffered by India in just more than a year. In 2024, little-fancied the Kiwis had achieved a staggering 3-0 triumph which essentially denied the hosts a berth in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The latest loss to South Africa threatens to derail India's hopes of making the showpiece of this season as well.
From number three in the WTC rankings ahead of the matches, India have fallen to the fifth spot. Although nine more Tests are yet to be played, half of these are against the Aussies. Typically, performing in familiar conditions would be a significant benefit - even when facing the powerful Australians. But the disasters against the Kiwis and South Africa leave little scope for such assurance.
Causes of the Fall
The national team's weakness in red-ball cricket has been badly exposed. However, why the team have performed so poorly in Tests on home soil in recent times is remains puzzling.
From the year 2000 onwards, the Indian cricket team were considered unbeatable in Test cricket at home. In demanding climates and on pitches that helped spin and aided their squad, the hosts dominated all comers. A rare failure, like in the 2012-13 season against England, was seen as an aberration.
Today, the team look to be easy pickings at home.
Facing New Zealand in 2024 and the Proteas this year, the home side were hoisted by their own petard. The surfaces they prepared to help their style failed miserably, as the opposition used them more effectively, outplaying the home team's players when it counted the most.
What's Gone Wrong?
A few experts argue that India is failing at home because home surfaces have been modified from spinning tracks to fast tracks to train the squad to do well overseas.
Others highlight that the Indian Premier League (IPL), in which several international stars play, has taken away the unfamiliarity and challenge home wickets would pose to them before.
While there is a degree of accuracy in each argument, it still does not explain why the side's results on home soil have seen such a dramatic drop.
Multiple Failings
The majority of ex-cricketers point to a complex, multi-headed problem, not limited to one or two factors.
Analysts and squad members have pointed to multiple deficiencies following the team's disappointing performance to the Proteas: not respecting the foe, poor preparation, flawed selections, overconfidence, frequent changes of the starting eleven, and emphasizing white-ball over the longer format.
This was obvious in the showings of the side.
Members such as Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom high hopes were held, paid for their lack of application, while Sudarshan, Reddy, and Jurel - who were aiming to establish their position in the squad - came up short in ability and attitude, paying a heavy price for their lackadaisical method.
A small number - Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep, Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar - did justice to their ability and standing - but not sufficiently to win matches.
Leadership Under Fire
The analysis also included just the players - selectors and support staff were also questioned, fuelled by disappointed supporters and outspoken ex-cricketers. Under focus of the criticism was team coach Gautam Gambhir.
At his post-series press
