The Indian cricket team's shocking 0-2 defeat to South Africa in the recently concluded Test series has plunged the side into crisis.
Just days ago, the visiting team gave India their heaviest loss in Test cricket, defying expectations. It marked the Proteas' maiden series victory in India in a quarter-century and India's second home series loss in just a year after a 12-year invincible streak.
The momentum built over the previous half-year has almost disappeared and the careers of multiple squad members - along with team coach the coach - are under scrutiny.
Initial Hope Disappears
The new-look squad's commendable display in England this season, under a different skipper, indicated a successful handover after the close together retirements of stalwarts Ashwin, Sharma, and Virat Kohli.
An easy 2-0 triumph over the Windies at the commencement of the home season strengthened that view, until the South Africans turned up and handed out a crushing loss.
India were a tad unfortunate that skipper Shubman Gill suffered an injury very early in the initial match and did not participate again in the series. But that does not excuse or justify the squad of the highly disappointing showing in both Tests against South Africa.
A number of star cricketers took a hit, and multiple individuals aspiring to long red-ball careers were exposed as not up to the mark - in ability or temperament - for the format.
A Troubling Pattern
This was the second series sweep on home soil suffered by the Indian team in just a year. In 2024, unfancied New Zealand had pulled off a remarkable 3-0 victory which practically cost India a berth in the Test championship finale.
The fresh failure to South Africa threatens to derail India's hopes of making the decider of this cycle too.
Previously ranked third in the Test championship standings ahead of the matches, India have been relegated to fifth place. Though nine additional matches are still to come, a majority are against the Aussies. Typically, performing in familiar conditions would be a major plus - even when facing the strong Australian side. Yet the disasters against New Zealand and the Proteas provide no basis for such comfort.
Roots of the Decline
The national team's frailty in red-ball cricket has been badly exposed. However, why India have performed so poorly in Tests on home soil recently is continues to confuse.
Since the turn of the century, the Indian cricket team were seen as impregnable in red-ball cricket in home conditions. In hot, humid conditions and on pitches that helped spin and benefited their players, India brooked no opposition. A rare failure, like in the 2012-13 season against the English, was considered an aberration.
Today, the team look to be easy pickings at home.
Facing the Kiwis in 2024 and South Africa currently, the home side were hoisted by their own petard. The tracks they curated to favor their game failed miserably, as the opposition used them more effectively, beating the home team's players when it counted the most.
What's Gone Wrong?
Some suggest that the Indian team is floundering at home because home surfaces have been modified from spinning tracks to fast tracks to prepare players to do well abroad.
A few mention that the domestic T20 league, in which numerous foreign cricketers play, has taken away the unfamiliarity and challenge Indian conditions would challenge them with before.
While there is a degree of accuracy in these views, it fails to account for why the team's showings at home have experienced such a staggering decline.
Several Weaknesses
Many past stars identify a complex, multi-headed problem, not only a couple of reasons.
Critics and players have identified several failings after the team's disappointing performance to the Proteas: underestimating the opposition, poor preparation, questionable picks, overconfidence, frequent changes of the playing XI, and prioritising white-ball over the longer format.
This was obvious in the performances of the side.
Players like Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom so much was expected, were punished for their nonchalance, while Sai Sudarshan, Reddy, and Jurel - who were hoping to secure their spot in the side - came up short in technique and temperament, facing the fallout for their lackadaisical method.
Only a handful - Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar - fulfilled their talent and reputation - but not sufficiently to win matches.
Management Questions
The review targeted the entire setup - team selectors and coaching staff were also questioned, fuelled by disappointed supporters and outspoken ex-cricketers. Under focus of the examination was mentor Gambhir.
At his post-series press
