India's shocking 0-2 defeat to South Africa in the recently concluded Test series has sent shockwaves through the squad.
Earlier this week, South Africa gave India a record loss in Test cricket, against all odds. It was the Proteas' first series win in the subcontinent in 25 years and India's another home failure in just 12 months after a 12-year unbeaten run.
The momentum established in the past six months has almost disappeared and the futures of multiple squad members - as well as head coach the coach - now hang in the balance.
Initial Hope Vanishes
The new-look squad's strong showing in the UK this summer, under a fresh leadership, indicated a smooth transition following the almost concurrent departures of key players R Ashwin, Sharma, and Kohli.
A straightforward 2-0 triumph over the Windies at the beginning of the home season enhanced that perception, before the South Africans came and inflicted a crushing loss.
India were a tad unfortunate that captain Shubman Gill got injured very early in the initial match and took no further part in the contest. However, that fails to account for the team of the terribly sub-par performance in both Tests against South Africa.
Some big reputations suffered, and multiple individuals hoping for extended tenures in Tests were revealed to be not yet good enough - in skill or mindset - for the format.
A Troubling Pattern
This represented the second series sweep in home conditions endured by India in just over a year. In 2024, little-fancied the Kiwis had pulled off a surprising 3-0 triumph which practically cost India a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The fresh failure to South Africa risks harming India's hopes of qualifying for the final of this cycle as well.
After being third in the Test championship standings prior to the contest, India have fallen to fifth place. Even though nine additional matches are remaining, half of these are against Australia. Typically, playing at home would be a significant benefit - including against the powerful Australians. But the disasters against New Zealand and South Africa provide no basis for such assurance.
Reasons for the Slump
The national team's weakness in red-ball cricket has been significantly highlighted. However, why the team have struggled so much in Tests at home recently is still bewildering.
Since the turn of the century, India were regarded as impregnable in Test cricket in home conditions. Under sweltering weather and on tracks that helped spin and suited their batsmen and bowlers, the hosts faced little challenge. The odd series defeat, like in 2012-13 against the English, was considered an anomaly.
Now, India appear to be beatable at home.
Versus New Zealand in last year and South Africa currently, the home side were defeated by their own tactics. The pitches they curated to favor their game backfired spectacularly, as the opposition capitalized on them more skillfully, outplaying India's batsmen and bowlers when it counted the most.
The Core Issue
A few experts argue that India is failing in home conditions because domestic pitches have been changed from turners to pace-friendly pitches to train the squad to succeed overseas.
Others highlight that the IPL, in which many overseas players take part, has removed the surprise and difficulty home wickets would pose to them earlier.
While there is validity in both analyses, it still does not explain why the team's showings on home soil have seen such a sharp fall.
Multiple Failings
Many past stars point to a multi-faceted challenge, not limited to one or two factors.
Experts and participants have pointed to multiple deficiencies after India's disappointing performance to the Proteas: underrating the rivals, poor preparation, questionable picks, arrogance, constant chopping and changing of the starting eleven, and prioritising white-ball over red-ball cricket.
This was clear in the performances of the squad.
Members like Pant and Jaiswal, of whom great things were anticipated, suffered for their carelessness, while Sudarshan, Reddy, and Jurel - who were looking to cement their spot in the side - were found wanting in ability and attitude, suffering the consequences for their lackadaisical method.
Only a handful - Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep, Mohammed Siraj and Sundar - fulfilled their talent and reputation - but not well enough to claim wins.
Coaching Scrutiny
The analysis targeted the entire setup - the selection panel and coaching staff were also criticized, driven by distraught fans and critical former players. Under focus of the criticism was head coach Gautam Gambhir.
At his post-series press
