India's surprising 0-2 series loss to South Africa in the just finished red-ball series has left the team reeling.
Just days ago, South Africa handed India a record Test defeat by runs, contrary to predictions. This represented South Africa's initial series triumph in the subcontinent in a quarter-century and India's another home failure in just 12 months after a 12-year unbeaten run.
The momentum built over the previous half-year has all but vanished and the futures of a number of cricketers - as well as team coach Gautam Gambhir - are under scrutiny.
A Promising Start Fades Quickly
The emerging side's impressive performance in England this summer, under a different skipper, suggested a smooth transition after the close together exits of stalwarts Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli.
An easy 2-0 triumph over West Indies at the commencement of the home campaign boosted that belief, before the Proteas turned up and handed out a devastating defeat.
India were somewhat unlucky that skipper Gill was injured quickly in the first Test and took no further part in the series. However, that neither explains nor absolves the squad of the terribly sub-par performance in the two games against the opposition.
Several established players took a hit, and a few members eyeing lengthy Test careers were revealed to be not yet good enough - in ability or temperament - for the Test cricket.
Concerning History
It was the second whitewash at home suffered by the Indian team in just over a year. In 2024, unfancied the Kiwis had secured a staggering 3-0 victory which practically cost India a place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The recent defeat to South Africa could damage the team's chances of qualifying for the decider of this edition as well.
From number three in the Test championship standings prior to the contest, the side have fallen to the fifth spot. Although nine additional matches are remaining, half of these are against the Aussies. Usually, playing at home would be a significant benefit - including against the powerful Australians. However the failures against New Zealand and South Africa leave little scope for such assurance.
Reasons for the Slump
India's frailty in the longer format has been clearly revealed. Nevertheless, why the team have performed so poorly in Tests at home in recent times is continues to confuse.
From the year 2000 onwards, the Indian cricket team were considered invincible in red-ball cricket at home. Under sweltering weather and on tracks that assisted spinners and suited their batsmen and bowlers, India faced little challenge. A rare failure, like in 2012-13 against England, was considered an anomaly.
Now, the team seem vulnerable on home turf.
Versus New Zealand in 2024 and the Proteas currently, the home side were defeated by their own tactics. The tracks they developed to help their style failed miserably, as rivals used them more effectively, beating the home team's players when it was most crucial.
What Happened?
Some suggest that India is failing at home because domestic pitches have been altered from turners to pace-friendly pitches to prepare players to do well 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 before.
Even though there is a degree of accuracy in both analyses, it fails to account for the reason India's performances on home soil have witnessed such a sharp fall.
Various Shortcomings
Most former players diagnose a complicated issue, not only a few causes.
Analysts and squad members have pointed to multiple deficiencies post the team's embarrassing defeat to the South Africans: underrating the rivals, lack of preparation, flawed selections, excessive self-belief, constant chopping and changing of the team lineup, and emphasizing white-ball over Test cricket.
This was clear in the performances of the team.
Members like Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom great things were anticipated, paid for their lack of application, while Sai Sudarshan, Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were aiming to establish their spot in the side - came up short in skill and mindset, suffering the consequences for their lackadaisical method.
Only a handful - Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep, Siraj and Sundar - did justice to their ability and standing - but not sufficiently to win matches.
Management Questions
The post-mortem targeted the entire setup - selectors and support staff were also under fire, spurred on by disappointed supporters and vocal past stars. In the spotlight of the examination was team coach Gautam Gambhir.
At his post-series press
