India's shocking 0-2 series loss to South Africa in the just finished red-ball series has plunged the side into crisis.
Earlier this week, South Africa gave India a record defeat in terms of runs, defying expectations. It was the Proteas' maiden series victory in India in 25 years and India's second defeat at home in just one year after a 12-year invincible streak.
The winning rhythm built over the past six months has almost disappeared and the careers of a number of cricketers - along with head mentor the coach - are under scrutiny.
Early Optimism Disappears
The emerging side's strong showing in the UK this summer, under a different skipper, pointed to a successful handover after the close together retirements of stalwarts R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli.
A straightforward 2-0 triumph over the Windies at the beginning of the domestic season strengthened that view, until the South Africans arrived to deliver a crushing loss.
The home side were a tad unfortunate that leader Shubman Gill was injured very early in the opening Test and was ruled out in the contest. But that fails to account for the side of the highly disappointing display in both Tests against the opposition.
Several established players suffered, and multiple individuals aspiring to lengthy Test careers were exposed as still inadequate - technically or mentally - for the format.
Worrying Trend
This was the second series sweep in home conditions experienced by India in just more than a year. In 2024, little-fancied New Zealand had secured a staggering 3-0 win which essentially denied India a berth in the WTC final.
The recent defeat to South Africa risks harming the team's hopes of making the showpiece of this edition also.
After being third in the WTC rankings before the series, India have fallen to fifth place. Even though nine further games are remaining, a majority are against the Aussies. Usually, performing in familiar conditions would be a major plus - including against the powerful Australians. But the debacles against New Zealand and South Africa provide no basis for such comfort.
Causes of the Fall
The national team's frailty in the longer format has been clearly revealed. That said, the reason India have struggled so much in Test matches on home soil lately is still bewildering.
Since the turn of the century, the Indian cricket team were seen as invincible in Test cricket in home conditions. Under sweltering weather and on pitches that favored spin bowling and aided their squad, the hosts faced little challenge. A rare failure, such as in 2012-13 against the English, was seen as an anomaly.
Currently, the team appear to be beatable at home.
Facing the Kiwis in 2024 and South Africa currently, the home side were defeated by their own tactics. The pitches they developed to favor their game went wrong completely, as rivals exploited them better, beating the home team's players when it counted the most.
What's Gone Wrong?
Certain analysts propose that India is struggling in home conditions because local wickets have been altered from spinning tracks to quick wickets to train the squad to succeed abroad.
Some point out that the IPL, in which many overseas players take part, has taken away the unfamiliarity and challenge Indian conditions would pose to them in the past.
Even though there is a degree of accuracy in both analyses, it still does not explain why the team's showings at home have experienced such a dramatic drop.
Various Shortcomings
Many past stars point to a complicated issue, not only a couple of reasons.
Experts and participants have highlighted multiple deficiencies following the team's embarrassing defeat to the Proteas: underrating the rivals, inadequate readiness, questionable picks, excessive self-belief, constant chopping and changing of the playing XI, and emphasizing limited-overs over red-ball cricket.
This was evident in the showings of the team.
Cricketers like Rishabh Pant and Jaiswal, of whom high hopes were held, suffered for their lack of application, while Sai Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were hoping to secure their place in the team - were found wanting in skill and mindset, suffering the consequences for their nonchalant approach.
A small number - Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep, Siraj and Sundar - fulfilled their skill and fame - but not well enough to claim wins.
Coaching Scrutiny
The analysis didn't spare the entire setup - team selectors and support staff were also criticized, fuelled by distraught fans and critical former players. At the centre of the examination was mentor Gautam Gambhir.
In his post-series press
