The Indian cricket team's surprising 0-2 series loss to the Proteas in the just finished Test series has sent shockwaves through the squad.
In the final match, the visiting team inflicted upon India their heaviest defeat in terms of runs, defying expectations. It was the Proteas' initial series triumph in India in a quarter-century and India's second home series loss in just a year after a 12-year unbeaten run.
The positive trajectory built over the past six months has largely dissipated and the prospects of multiple squad members - along with head mentor Gautam Gambhir - are under scrutiny.
A Promising Start Disappears
The new-look squad's strong showing in England this season, under a new captain, indicated a successful handover after the close together exits of veterans Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Kohli.
A straightforward 2-0 triumph over the Windies at the beginning of the domestic season enhanced that perception, until the Proteas turned up and handed out a fell blow.
India were a tad unfortunate that leader Gill was injured early on in the initial match and took no further part in the contest. However, that neither explains nor absolves the team of the highly disappointing showing in the two games against the opposition.
A number of star cricketers were damaged, and a few members eyeing lengthy Test careers were revealed to be still inadequate - in skill or mindset - for the longer format.
Concerning History
It was the second series sweep on home soil suffered by India in just more than a year. Last year, underestimated the Kiwis had secured a surprising 3-0 victory which essentially denied the hosts a spot in the WTC final.
The fresh failure to the Proteas could damage India's hopes of making the showpiece of this edition as well.
After being third in the WTC rankings ahead of the matches, the side have dropped to the fifth spot. Even though nine more Tests are remaining, a majority are against Australia. Ordinarily, competing on home turf would be a significant benefit - even against the powerful Australians. Yet the failures against New Zealand and the Proteas leave little scope for such comfort.
Causes of the Fall
India's frailty in Test cricket has been significantly highlighted. Nevertheless, the reason India have struggled so much in Test matches on home soil recently is remains puzzling.
From the year 2000 onwards, the Indian cricket team were seen as unbeatable in Test cricket in home conditions. Under sweltering weather and on pitches that assisted spinners 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 considered an exception.
Currently, the team look to be beatable at home.
Against the Kiwis in 2024 and the Proteas currently, India were hoisted by their own petard. The tracks they developed to suit their strengths went wrong completely, as opponents capitalized on them more skillfully, beating the Indian batters and bowlers when it was most crucial.
What Happened?
A few experts argue that the Indian team is struggling in home conditions because local wickets have been modified from spinning tracks to fast tracks to get cricketers ready to succeed abroad.
A few mention that the IPL, in which several international stars take part, has taken away the unfamiliarity and challenge home wickets would pose to them before.
Although there is validity in each argument, it fails to account for why the team's showings at home have witnessed such a sharp fall.
Various Shortcomings
Many past stars point to a multi-faceted challenge, not only a few causes.
Experts and participants have highlighted multiple deficiencies after the team's disappointing performance to the Proteas: not respecting the foe, poor preparation, poor choices, overconfidence, frequent changes of the starting eleven, and emphasizing limited-overs over Test cricket.
This was clear in the performances of the team.
Players like Pant and Jaiswal, of whom great things were anticipated, suffered for their lack of application, while Sai Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were looking to cement their position in the squad - were found wanting in technique and temperament, facing the fallout for their casual attitude.
Only a handful - Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep, Mohammed Siraj and Sundar - lived up to their skill and fame - but inadequately to claim wins.
Leadership Under Fire
The post-mortem targeted the entire setup - selectors and support staff were also under fire, spurred on by distraught fans and vocal past stars. At the centre of the scrutiny was team coach Gambhir.
During his post-series press
