India's shocking 0-2 series loss to South Africa in the recently concluded red-ball series has left the team reeling.
Earlier this week, South Africa inflicted upon India a record Test defeat by runs, against all odds. It was South Africa's initial series triumph in India in two and a half decades and the host nation's another home failure in just a year after a decade-plus without a home loss.
The positive trajectory gained during the last several months has all but vanished and the futures of multiple squad members - as well as team coach the coach - are now uncertain.
Initial Hope Disappears
The emerging side's strong showing in England this season, under a different skipper, pointed to a smooth transition post the close together exits of key players R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli.
An easy 2-0 victory over the Windies at the start of the home season strengthened that view, until the Proteas arrived to deliver a crushing loss.
India were a tad unfortunate that leader Shubman Gill suffered an injury early on in the opening Test and took no further part in the series. However, that neither explains nor absolves the team of the well below standard performance in both Tests against South Africa.
A number of star cricketers took a hit, and several players aspiring to lengthy Test careers were shown as still inadequate - in ability or temperament - for the Test cricket.
A Troubling Pattern
This represented the second series sweep on home soil experienced by the Indian team in just more than a year. In 2024, little-fancied the Kiwis had secured a staggering 3-0 victory which essentially denied India a berth in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The recent defeat to South Africa could damage the team's hopes of making the final of this cycle too.
After being third in the WTC rankings ahead of the matches, India have fallen to number five. Though nine more Tests are still to come, half of these are against Australia. Ordinarily, playing at home would be a significant benefit - even when facing the mighty Aussies. But the failures against New Zealand and South Africa provide no basis for such assurance.
Roots of the Decline
India's weakness in red-ball cricket has been badly exposed. Nevertheless, why the team have struggled so much in Test matches on home soil lately is continues to confuse.
Since the turn of the century, the Indian cricket team were regarded as impregnable in Test cricket at home. In hot, humid conditions and on tracks that favored spin bowling and benefited their players, India faced little challenge. The odd series defeat, like in 2012-13 against the English, was considered an anomaly.
Now, India seem beatable in their own backyard.
Versus New Zealand in 2024 and South Africa currently, India were hoisted by their own petard. The surfaces they curated to help their style failed miserably, as the opposition exploited them better, surpassing India's batsmen and bowlers when it was most crucial.
What Happened?
Some suggest that the Indian team is floundering at home because local wickets have been modified from turners to quick wickets to get cricketers ready to perform better in foreign conditions.
Others highlight that the IPL, in which many overseas players play, has removed the unfamiliarity and challenge home wickets would pose to them earlier.
Although there is a degree of accuracy in each argument, it fails to account for why the team's showings on home soil have witnessed such a staggering decline.
Several Weaknesses
Many past stars diagnose a complex, multi-headed problem, not limited to a couple of reasons.
Experts and participants have pointed to multiple deficiencies post the team's embarrassing defeat to the Proteas: underestimating the opposition, inadequate readiness, questionable picks, excessive self-belief, constant chopping and changing of the playing XI, and favoring white-ball over red-ball cricket.
This was clear in the displays of the team.
Cricketers like Pant and Jaiswal, of whom high hopes were held, suffered for their nonchalance, while Sai Sudarshan, Reddy, and Jurel - who were aiming to establish their position in the squad - came up short in technique and temperament, suffering the consequences for their lackadaisical method.
A small number - Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep, Siraj and Washington Sundar - lived up to their skill and fame - but inadequately to claim wins.
Coaching Scrutiny
The post-mortem also included just the players - team selectors and support staff were also under fire, driven by upset followers and critical former players. In the spotlight of the examination was mentor Gambhir.
In his post-series press
