The Indian cricket team's surprising 0-2 loss to the Proteas in the just finished Test series has plunged the side into crisis.
Earlier this week, South Africa handed India their heaviest defeat in terms of runs, defying expectations. This represented South Africa's initial series triumph in India in a quarter-century and India's second defeat at home in just a year after a 12-year unbeaten run.
The positive trajectory gained during the past six months has almost disappeared and the prospects of several players - along with head mentor Gautam Gambhir - are now uncertain.
Initial Hope Disappears
The emerging side's impressive performance in the UK this season, under a different skipper, pointed to a successful handover following the near-simultaneous retirements of stalwarts R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli.
A straightforward 2-0 triumph over West Indies at the beginning of the home campaign boosted that belief, before the South Africans arrived to deliver a devastating defeat.
India were a tad unfortunate that captain Shubman Gill got injured quickly in the opening Test and took no further part in the series. However, that fails to account for the side of the highly disappointing display in each match against South Africa.
Some big reputations were damaged, and several players aspiring to long red-ball careers were revealed to be not up to the mark - technically or mentally - for the Test cricket.
Concerning History
It was the second whitewash at home suffered by India in just over a year. Last year, underestimated the Kiwis had secured a surprising 3-0 victory which practically cost India a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The fresh failure to the Proteas risks harming India's prospects of qualifying for the final of this edition too.
After being third in the WTC rankings prior to the contest, India have dropped to the fifth spot. Though nine more Tests are still to come, half of these are against Australia. Usually, performing in familiar conditions would be a significant benefit - even when facing the mighty Aussies. Yet the debacles against the Kiwis and South Africa leave little scope for such comfort.
Reasons for the Slump
India's frailty in the longer format has been clearly revealed. That said, why India have fared so badly in Tests on home soil in recent times is continues to confuse.
Since the turn of the century, the Indian cricket team were regarded as invincible in red-ball cricket at home. In hot, humid conditions and on tracks that favored spin bowling and benefited their players, India dominated all comers. The odd series defeat, like in the 2012-13 season against England, was viewed as an aberration.
Today, the team appear to be beatable at home.
Versus the Kiwis in 2024 and the Proteas this year, the home side were hoisted by their own petard. The tracks they curated to favor their game failed miserably, as the opposition exploited them better, beating India's batsmen and bowlers when it mattered most.
What's Gone Wrong?
A few experts argue that India is floundering in home conditions because domestic pitches have been modified from spinning tracks to quick wickets to train the squad to succeed in foreign conditions.
Others highlight that the domestic T20 league, in which numerous foreign cricketers participate, has taken away the surprise and difficulty Indian conditions would present to them in the past.
While there is some truth in each argument, it fails to account for why India's performances on home soil have witnessed such a sharp fall.
Various Shortcomings
Many past stars diagnose a complex, multi-headed problem, not only a couple of reasons.
Critics and players have pointed to several failings post India's humiliating loss to the Proteas: underestimating the opposition, inadequate readiness, poor choices, overconfidence, regular alterations of the starting eleven, and prioritising limited-overs over Test cricket.
This was obvious in the performances of the side.
Cricketers like Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom so much was expected, paid for their carelessness, while Sudarshan, Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were looking to cement their place in the team - came up short in skill and mindset, paying a heavy price for their casual attitude.
A small number - Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep, Siraj and Sundar - did justice to their talent and reputation - but not sufficiently to secure victories.
Management Questions
The post-mortem didn't spare not only the cricketers - team selectors and backroom team were also criticized, driven by distraught fans and outspoken ex-cricketers. In the spotlight of the scrutiny was head coach Gambhir.
At his post-series press
