The Indian cricket team's shocking 0-2 series loss to the Proteas in the recent red-ball series has left the team reeling.
Earlier this week, South Africa inflicted upon India their heaviest loss in Test cricket, contrary to predictions. It marked the Proteas' maiden series victory in India in 25 years and the host nation's second defeat at home in just one year after a 12-year invincible streak.
The winning rhythm established in the past six months has largely dissipated and the careers of a number of cricketers - including head coach Gautam Gambhir - now hang in the balance.
Early Optimism Vanishes
The emerging side's strong showing in the UK this season, under a new captain, indicated a smooth transition after the close together exits of stalwarts R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli.
A facile 2-0 win over West Indies at the commencement of the home campaign enhanced that perception, before the South Africans turned up and handed out a crushing loss.
India were somewhat unlucky that leader Shubman Gill suffered an injury very early in the first Test and was ruled out in the contest. Yet that neither explains nor absolves the team of the highly disappointing display in both Tests against the opposition.
A number of star cricketers suffered, and several players aspiring to long red-ball careers were shown as not yet good enough - in skill or mindset - for the Test cricket.
Concerning History
This represented the second series sweep at home suffered by India in just over a year. Last year, underestimated the Kiwis had pulled off a remarkable 3-0 win which essentially denied the hosts a place in the Test championship finale.
The fresh failure to South Africa could damage the team's prospects of qualifying for the final of this edition also.
After being third in the Test championship standings prior to the contest, India have dropped to the fifth spot. Even though nine further games are yet to be played, a majority are against the Aussies. Typically, playing at home would be a major plus - including against the powerful Australians. But the debacles against New Zealand and the Proteas leave little scope for such comfort.
Roots of the Decline
The national team's weakness in the longer format has been clearly revealed. However, why India have struggled so much in Test matches at home lately is continues to confuse.
Since the turn of the century, the Indian cricket team were seen as impregnable in red-ball cricket at home. In demanding climates and on surfaces that helped spin and aided their squad, the hosts faced little challenge. A rare failure, such as in 2012-13 against the English, was seen as an aberration.
Currently, the team seem beatable at home.
Facing New Zealand in last year and the Proteas this year, the home side were defeated by their own tactics. The pitches they curated to help their style went wrong completely, as opponents capitalized on them more skillfully, surpassing the Indian batters and bowlers when it mattered most.
The Core Issue
Certain analysts propose that India is failing at home because home surfaces have been altered from spinning tracks to quick wickets to train the squad to perform better in foreign conditions.
A few mention that the IPL, in which numerous foreign cricketers participate, has removed the mystery and hardship subcontinental pitches would present to them earlier.
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 seen such a dramatic drop.
Several Weaknesses
The majority of ex-cricketers identify a complex, multi-headed problem, not only a few causes.
Experts and participants have identified several failings after the team's embarrassing defeat to the Proteas: underrating the rivals, poor preparation, flawed selections, overconfidence, frequent changes of the starting eleven, and favoring white-ball over the longer format.
This was evident in the performances of the side.
Members like Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom so much was expected, paid for their lack of application, while Sai Sudarshan, Reddy, and Jurel - who were hoping to secure their position in the squad - fell short in skill and mindset, paying a heavy price for their lackadaisical method.
Just a few - Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep, Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar - lived up to their talent and reputation - but not sufficiently to secure victories.
Leadership Under Fire
The post-mortem also included just the players - the selection panel and support staff were also questioned, spurred on by distraught fans and vocal past stars. Under focus of the criticism was team coach Gambhir.
In his post-series press
