India's shocking 0-2 loss to South Africa in the recent red-ball series has left the team reeling.
In the final match, the visiting team gave India a record loss in Test cricket, against all odds. It was South Africa's first series win in the subcontinent in two and a half decades and the host nation's another home failure in just one year after a 12-year invincible streak.
The positive trajectory established in the previous half-year has almost disappeared and the futures of a number of cricketers - along with team coach Gautam Gambhir - are now uncertain.
Initial Hope Vanishes
The young team's strong showing in England this summer, under a fresh leadership, suggested a successful handover following the almost concurrent exits of stalwarts Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Kohli.
A straightforward 2-0 win over the Windies at the beginning of the home season enhanced that perception, until the South Africans arrived to deliver a fell blow.
India were a tad unfortunate that leader Shubman Gill was injured quickly in the opening Test and was ruled out in the contest. But that fails to account for the squad of the well below standard display in both Tests against the opposition.
Some big reputations suffered, and several players eyeing long red-ball careers were revealed to be not yet good enough - in skill or mindset - for the longer format.
A Troubling Pattern
This was the second series sweep at home endured by India in just over a year. In 2024, little-fancied New Zealand had secured a surprising 3-0 victory which essentially denied the hosts a spot in the WTC final.
The latest loss to the Proteas risks harming the team's prospects of qualifying for the final of this season too.
After being third in the WTC rankings ahead of the matches, the side have dropped to number five. Although nine additional matches are still to come, half of these are against Australia. Typically, performing in familiar conditions would be a major plus - including against the strong Australian side. However the failures against New Zealand and South Africa offer no room for such assurance.
Roots of the Decline
India's vulnerability in Test cricket has been clearly revealed. That said, the reason India have struggled so much in Test matches at home lately is remains puzzling.
Since the turn of the century, the Indian cricket team were seen as unbeatable in red-ball cricket in home conditions. Under sweltering weather and on tracks that assisted spinners and aided their squad, India faced little challenge. The odd series defeat, such as in the 2012-13 season against England, was viewed as an aberration.
Currently, the team appear to be easy pickings on home turf.
Facing New Zealand in last year and South Africa this year, India were beaten at their own game. The tracks they prepared to favor their game went wrong completely, as rivals used them more effectively, surpassing India's batsmen and bowlers when it counted the most.
What Happened?
Certain analysts propose that the Indian team is struggling at home because domestic pitches have been changed from turners to pace-friendly pitches to prepare players to perform better in foreign conditions.
Others highlight that the Indian Premier League (IPL), in which many overseas players take part, has taken away the surprise and difficulty Indian conditions would pose to them earlier.
Even though there is a degree of accuracy in each argument, it still does not explain the reason India's performances at home have witnessed such a sharp fall.
Various Shortcomings
The majority of ex-cricketers identify a multi-faceted challenge, not only a couple of reasons.
Analysts and squad members have highlighted several failings after the team's embarrassing defeat to the South Africans: underestimating the opposition, lack of preparation, flawed selections, excessive self-belief, regular alterations of the team lineup, and emphasizing limited-overs over red-ball cricket.
This was obvious in the performances of the squad.
Players like Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom high hopes were held, paid for their carelessness, while Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were aiming to establish their place in the team - came up short in ability and attitude, suffering the consequences for their lackadaisical method.
A small number - Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep, Siraj and Sundar - fulfilled their ability and standing - but not well enough to secure victories.
Management Questions
The post-mortem also included just the players - the selection panel and backroom team were also criticized, fuelled by distraught fans and outspoken ex-cricketers. Under focus of the scrutiny was head coach Gambhir.
In his post-series press
