India's unexpected 0-2 series loss to South Africa in the recently concluded red-ball series has left the team reeling.
Earlier this week, the visiting team handed India a record Test defeat by runs, against all odds. It was South Africa's initial series triumph in India in a quarter-century and the host nation's second defeat at home in just a year after a 12-year invincible streak.
The momentum established in the past six months has largely dissipated and the futures of several players - including head mentor Gautam Gambhir - now hang in the balance.
A Promising Start Disappears
The new-look squad's impressive performance in England this season, under a different skipper, pointed to a smooth transition after the almost concurrent exits of veterans R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli.
An easy 2-0 victory over West Indies at the start of the home campaign boosted that belief, until the Proteas arrived to deliver a devastating defeat.
The home side were somewhat unlucky that leader Gill was injured early on in the opening Test and took no further part in the series. However, that neither explains nor absolves the squad of the highly disappointing showing in each match against South Africa.
Some big reputations suffered, and a few members eyeing extended tenures in Tests were shown as still inadequate - technically or mentally - for the format.
A Troubling Pattern
It was the second clean sweep on home soil suffered by the Indian team in just more than a year. In 2024, little-fancied New Zealand had secured a surprising 3-0 triumph which practically cost India a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The recent defeat to South Africa could damage the team's prospects of qualifying for the decider of this season also.
After being third in the Test championship standings prior to the contest, the side have fallen to the fifth spot. Though nine further games are remaining, five of these are against Australia. Usually, playing at home would be a significant benefit - even when facing the powerful Australians. Yet the debacles against the Kiwis and the Proteas provide no basis for that confidence.
Roots of the Decline
India's vulnerability in the longer format has been significantly highlighted. That said, the reason the team have struggled so much in Tests on home soil in recent times is still bewildering.
Since the turn of the century, the Indian cricket team were considered impregnable in red-ball cricket in home conditions. In hot, humid conditions and on surfaces that favored spin bowling and suited their batsmen and bowlers, the hosts brooked no opposition. The occasional loss, like in 2012-13 against the English, was considered an exception.
Now, the team seem easy pickings at home.
Facing New Zealand in 2024 and the Proteas this year, the home side were defeated by their own tactics. The tracks they prepared to help their style backfired spectacularly, as opponents used them more effectively, surpassing the home team's players when it mattered most.
The Core Issue
Some suggest that the Indian team is failing at home because local wickets have been altered from spinning tracks to quick wickets to train the squad to succeed overseas.
Others highlight that the domestic T20 league, in which many overseas players participate, has removed the unfamiliarity and challenge Indian conditions would challenge them with in the past.
While there is some truth in these views, it does not clarify the reason the team's showings on home soil have experienced such a staggering decline.
Various Shortcomings
Many past stars identify a complicated issue, not only a few causes.
Experts and participants have highlighted multiple deficiencies following India's embarrassing defeat to the Proteas: underrating the rivals, lack of preparation, poor choices, overconfidence, constant chopping and changing of the playing XI, and favoring white-ball over the longer format.
This was clear in the performances of the team.
Players such as Pant and Jaiswal, of whom great things were anticipated, were punished for their nonchalance, while Sudarshan, Reddy, and Jurel - who were hoping to secure their position in the squad - came up short in technique and temperament, facing the fallout for their nonchalant approach.
Only a handful - Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep, Siraj and Washington Sundar - lived up to their skill and fame - but not sufficiently to secure victories.
Leadership Under Fire
The review targeted just the players - team selectors and backroom team were also under fire, driven by upset followers and critical former players. In the spotlight of the criticism was team coach Gambhir.
At his post-series press
