The Indian cricket team's shocking 0-2 loss to South Africa in the just finished red-ball series has left the team reeling.
In the final match, the visiting team handed India a record loss in Test cricket, defying expectations. It was South Africa's maiden series victory in the subcontinent in a quarter-century and India's another home failure in just one year after a 12-year unbeaten run.
The positive trajectory established in the last several months has largely dissipated and the prospects of several players - including head coach Gautam Gambhir - are under scrutiny.
A Promising Start Disappears
The emerging side's commendable display in the UK this season, under a different skipper, suggested a smooth transition after the almost concurrent retirements of stalwarts R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli.
A straightforward 2-0 win over West Indies at the beginning of the domestic season enhanced that perception, before the Proteas came and inflicted a devastating defeat.
India were a bit unlucky that skipper Shubman Gill suffered an injury early on in the initial match and did not participate again in the contest. However, that does not excuse or justify the side of the highly disappointing showing in both Tests against the opposition.
Several established players were damaged, and several players hoping for long red-ball careers were revealed to be still inadequate - in skill or mindset - for the longer format.
A Troubling Pattern
This represented the second series sweep at home suffered by the Indian team in just over a year. In 2024, little-fancied the Kiwis had achieved a remarkable 3-0 win which essentially denied India a berth in the Test championship finale.
The recent defeat to South Africa could damage the team's hopes of making the final of this cycle as well.
From number three in the WTC rankings before the series, India have fallen to number five. Even though nine additional matches are yet to be played, five of these are against Australia. Typically, performing in familiar conditions would be a significant benefit - even against the powerful Australians. But the failures against the Kiwis and the Proteas offer no room for that confidence.
Reasons for the Slump
The national team's vulnerability in red-ball cricket has been clearly revealed. Nevertheless, why the team have fared so badly in Test matches at home lately is still bewildering.
In the 21st century, the Indian cricket team were seen as impregnable in red-ball cricket in home conditions. Under sweltering weather and on pitches that favored spin bowling and benefited their players, the hosts dominated all comers. A rare failure, such as in 2012-13 against England, was considered an aberration.
Today, India look to be beatable in their own backyard.
Facing New Zealand in 2024 and South Africa this year, the home side were defeated by their own tactics. The tracks they prepared to suit their strengths went wrong completely, as the opposition capitalized on them more skillfully, surpassing the home team's players when it counted the most.
What Happened?
Some suggest that the Indian team is floundering in home conditions because domestic pitches have been modified from spinning tracks to pace-friendly pitches to get cricketers ready to do well in foreign conditions.
Some point out that the Indian Premier League (IPL), in which several international stars play, has taken away the surprise and difficulty Indian conditions would present to them before.
Even though there is a degree of accuracy in these views, it still does not explain the reason the side's results at home have experienced such a sharp fall.
Various Shortcomings
The majority of ex-cricketers diagnose a multi-faceted challenge, not just a few causes.
Critics and players have highlighted various flaws after the team's humiliating loss to the Proteas: not respecting the foe, poor preparation, flawed selections, excessive self-belief, frequent changes of the starting eleven, and emphasizing limited-overs over red-ball cricket.
This was evident in the performances of the squad.
Members such as Rishabh Pant and Jaiswal, of whom high hopes were held, paid for their nonchalance, while Sudarshan, Reddy, and Jurel - who were hoping to secure their place in the team - fell short in ability and attitude, suffering the consequences for their nonchalant approach.
A small number - Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep, Siraj and Washington Sundar - fulfilled their ability and standing - but not sufficiently to secure victories.
Management Questions
The post-mortem also included not only the cricketers - selectors and coaching staff were also criticized, driven by disappointed supporters and critical former players. Under focus of the examination was team coach Gambhir.
During his post-series press
