The Indian cricket team's shocking 0-2 loss to South Africa in the just finished Test series has plunged the side into crisis.
Just days ago, South Africa handed India their heaviest Test defeat by runs, contrary to predictions. It was South Africa's first series win in India in two and a half decades and the host nation's another home failure in just one year after a 12-year invincible streak.
The momentum established in the last several months has all but vanished and the futures of a number of cricketers - along with team coach the coach - are now uncertain.
Initial Hope Vanishes
The emerging side's impressive performance in the UK this season, under a fresh leadership, suggested a smooth transition following the near-simultaneous exits of stalwarts Ashwin, Sharma, and Virat Kohli.
An easy 2-0 triumph over the Windies at the commencement of the domestic season boosted that belief, before the Proteas came and inflicted a crushing loss.
The home side were a tad unfortunate that captain Gill was injured quickly in the opening Test and was ruled out in the series. But that neither explains nor absolves the team of the highly disappointing performance in the two games against South Africa.
A number of star cricketers were damaged, and several players eyeing extended tenures in Tests were revealed to be not up to the mark - in ability or temperament - for the Test cricket.
Worrying Trend
It was the second whitewash in home conditions suffered by the Indian team in just a year. In 2024, unfancied the Kiwis had secured a remarkable 3-0 triumph which essentially denied the hosts a berth in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The latest loss to South Africa risks harming India's prospects of reaching the final of this season too.
Previously ranked third in the WTC rankings before the series, India have dropped to number five. Although nine further games are still to come, a majority are against the Aussies. Typically, performing in familiar conditions would be a significant benefit - even against the powerful Australians. But the debacles against the Kiwis and South Africa provide no basis for such comfort.
Reasons for the Slump
India's weakness in Test cricket has been badly exposed. Nevertheless, the reason India have fared so badly in Test matches on home soil recently is continues to confuse.
From the year 2000 onwards, India were considered unbeatable in Test cricket at home. In hot, humid conditions and on surfaces that assisted spinners and benefited their players, India faced little challenge. The occasional loss, like in the 2012-13 season against the English, was considered an anomaly.
Currently, the team seem easy pickings in their own backyard.
Facing the Kiwis in 2024 and the Proteas this year, India were defeated by their own tactics. The pitches they developed to help their style failed miserably, as the opposition capitalized on them more skillfully, surpassing India's batsmen and bowlers when it counted the most.
What Happened?
A few experts argue that India is floundering in home conditions because domestic pitches have been changed from spinning tracks to fast tracks to train the squad to do well overseas.
A few mention that the IPL, in which several international stars play, has reduced the surprise and difficulty Indian conditions would challenge them with earlier.
Even though there is a degree of accuracy in each argument, it fails to account for the reason the team's showings on home soil have seen such a dramatic drop.
Multiple Failings
The majority of ex-cricketers point to a complicated issue, not only one or two factors.
Analysts and squad members have highlighted multiple deficiencies after the team's disappointing performance to the Proteas: not respecting the foe, poor preparation, poor choices, excessive self-belief, frequent changes of the starting eleven, and prioritising limited-overs over the longer format.
This was clear in the performances of the team.
Players like Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom great things were anticipated, suffered for their lack of application, while Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were aiming to establish their position in the squad - came up short in ability and attitude, suffering the consequences for their lackadaisical method.
Only a handful - Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Siraj and Washington Sundar - fulfilled their talent and reputation - but inadequately to win matches.
Leadership Under Fire
The post-mortem also included the entire setup - the selection panel and support staff were also questioned, driven by disappointed supporters and critical former players. At the centre of the examination was mentor Gautam Gambhir.
During his post-series press
