The Indian cricket team's shocking 0-2 series loss to the Proteas in the just finished red-ball series has sent shockwaves through the squad.
Earlier this week, South Africa handed India a record defeat in terms of runs, contrary to predictions. This represented South Africa's initial series triumph in India in 25 years and the host nation's second defeat at home in just a year after a 12-year unbeaten run.
The positive trajectory built over the past six months has almost disappeared and the careers of multiple squad members - along with head mentor the coach - are under scrutiny.
Early Optimism Disappears
The new-look squad's strong showing in England this summer, under a new captain, suggested a successful handover following the almost concurrent retirements of veterans R Ashwin, Sharma, and Kohli.
A facile 2-0 win over West Indies at the start of the home season strengthened that view, till the South Africans arrived to deliver a crushing loss.
The home side were a bit unlucky that skipper Gill got injured very early in the initial match and did not participate again in the contest. Yet that neither explains nor absolves the squad of the well below standard performance in the two games against South Africa.
Some big reputations suffered, and a few members eyeing extended tenures in Tests were exposed as not yet good enough - technically or mentally - for the longer format.
Concerning History
This was the second whitewash on home soil endured by India in just over a year. In 2024, underestimated New Zealand had achieved a staggering 3-0 victory which effectively cost India a berth in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The latest loss to South Africa threatens to derail India's hopes of reaching the decider of this season also.
After being third in the WTC rankings ahead of the matches, the side have fallen to fifth place. Though nine additional matches are yet to be played, a majority are against Australia. Usually, competing on home turf would be a significant benefit - including against the strong Australian side. But the debacles against New Zealand and South Africa leave little scope for that confidence.
Reasons for the Slump
India's frailty in the longer format has been significantly highlighted. That said, the reason the team have performed so poorly in Test matches at home in recent times is remains puzzling.
In the 21st century, India were regarded as impregnable in red-ball cricket in home conditions. In hot, humid conditions and on pitches that favored spin bowling and aided their squad, the hosts brooked no opposition. The odd series defeat, such as in 2012-13 against the English, was considered an anomaly.
Today, India seem easy pickings on home turf.
Against the Kiwis in 2024 and the Proteas this year, India were defeated by their own tactics. The pitches they prepared to help their style went wrong completely, as the opposition exploited them better, outplaying the Indian batters and bowlers when it mattered most.
What Happened?
Some suggest that the Indian team is failing at home because local wickets have been modified from spinning tracks to pace-friendly pitches to get cricketers ready to perform better overseas.
Others highlight that the Indian Premier League (IPL), in which numerous foreign cricketers take part, has taken away the surprise and difficulty home wickets would pose to them earlier.
Even though there is a degree of accuracy in both analyses, it still does not explain why the side's results at home have witnessed such a dramatic drop.
Various Shortcomings
Many past stars point to a complex, multi-headed problem, not just a few causes.
Experts and participants have highlighted various flaws after India's embarrassing defeat to the Proteas: underrating the rivals, lack of preparation, flawed selections, overconfidence, frequent changes of the playing XI, and emphasizing limited-overs over Test cricket.
This was obvious in the showings of the side.
Players like Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom so much was expected, paid for their lack of application, while Sai Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were aiming to establish their place in the team - fell short in technique and temperament, suffering the consequences for their lackadaisical method.
A small number - Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar - fulfilled their skill and fame - but not well enough to win matches.
Management Questions
The review didn't spare not only the cricketers - team selectors and coaching staff were also criticized, driven by distraught fans and outspoken ex-cricketers. In the spotlight of the examination was mentor Gautam Gambhir.
At his post-series press
