India's surprising 0-2 defeat to South Africa in the recently concluded Test series has sent shockwaves through the squad.
Earlier this week, the visiting team handed India their heaviest loss in Test cricket, defying expectations. This represented the Proteas' maiden series victory in India in two and a half decades and India's another home failure in just a year after a 12-year invincible streak.
The positive trajectory built over the previous half-year has largely dissipated and the prospects of several players - including head mentor the coach - are under scrutiny.
Initial Hope Fades Quickly
The emerging side's commendable display in England this season, under a fresh leadership, pointed to a successful handover post the almost concurrent departures of stalwarts Ashwin, Sharma, and Virat Kohli.
An easy 2-0 win over West Indies at the commencement of the home campaign boosted that belief, until the South Africans turned up and handed out a devastating defeat.
The home side were a tad unfortunate that leader Gill was injured very early in the opening Test and took no further part in the series. Yet that neither explains nor absolves the team of the terribly sub-par performance in both Tests against South Africa.
A number of star cricketers were damaged, and several players eyeing long red-ball careers were exposed as still inadequate - technically or mentally - for the Test cricket.
Worrying Trend
This was the second clean sweep at home experienced by the Indian team in just more than a year. Last year, little-fancied the Kiwis had pulled off a surprising 3-0 victory which essentially denied the hosts a berth in the Test championship finale.
The recent defeat to South Africa could damage the team's prospects of making the decider of this cycle as well.
Previously ranked third in the Test championship standings ahead of the matches, India have fallen to fifth place. Even though nine more Tests are yet to be played, a majority are against Australia. Usually, performing in familiar conditions would be a significant benefit - including against the powerful Australians. However the disasters against the Kiwis and South Africa offer no room for such assurance.
Reasons for the Slump
The national team's frailty in the longer format has been significantly highlighted. That said, the reason India have performed so poorly in Tests on home soil recently is remains puzzling.
From the year 2000 onwards, India were regarded as unbeatable in red-ball cricket at home. In hot, humid conditions and on pitches that helped spin and aided their squad, the hosts dominated all comers. A rare failure, like in the 2012-13 season against England, was viewed as an exception.
Now, the team appear to be beatable at home.
Against New Zealand in 2024 and the Proteas this year, India were hoisted by their own petard. The tracks they prepared to favor their game backfired spectacularly, as opponents exploited them better, outplaying the home team's players when it mattered most.
What Happened?
Some suggest that India is failing in home conditions because local wickets have been altered from spinning tracks to quick wickets to get cricketers ready to do well overseas.
Some point out that the domestic T20 league, in which numerous foreign cricketers take part, has taken away the surprise and difficulty subcontinental pitches would challenge them with in the past.
Although there is some truth in these views, it fails to account for the reason the team's showings on home soil have seen such a sharp fall.
Several Weaknesses
Most former players diagnose a multi-faceted challenge, not limited to one or two factors.
Critics and players have identified various flaws post the team's embarrassing defeat to the South Africans: not respecting the foe, poor preparation, poor choices, arrogance, frequent changes of the playing XI, and emphasizing white-ball over red-ball cricket.
This was evident in the performances of the side.
Players such as Rishabh Pant and Jaiswal, of whom so much was expected, suffered for their carelessness, while Sai Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Jurel - who were hoping to secure their place in the team - fell short in ability and attitude, facing the fallout for their lackadaisical method.
Just a few - Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep, Siraj and Washington Sundar - did justice to their skill and fame - but not sufficiently to claim wins.
Management Questions
The review didn't spare just the players - the selection panel and support staff were also under fire, driven by distraught fans and critical former players. At the centre of the scrutiny was head coach Gautam Gambhir.
At his post-series press
