India's surprising 0-2 defeat to South Africa in the just finished red-ball series has sent shockwaves through the squad.
Earlier this week, the visiting team inflicted upon India their heaviest defeat in terms of runs, defying expectations. This represented South Africa's initial series triumph in the subcontinent in 25 years and the host nation's another home failure in just 12 months after a decade-plus without a home loss.
The momentum gained during the last several months has largely dissipated and the careers of several players - along with head mentor Gautam Gambhir - are now uncertain.
A Promising Start Vanishes
The emerging side's commendable display in England this summer, under a fresh leadership, indicated a successful handover following the almost concurrent exits of key players R Ashwin, Sharma, and Kohli.
A facile 2-0 victory over West Indies at the beginning of the domestic season strengthened that view, till the South Africans turned up and handed out a devastating defeat.
The home side were a bit unlucky that captain Gill was injured early on in the opening Test and did not participate again in the series. Yet that neither explains nor absolves the side of the well below standard display in each match against the opposition.
Some big reputations took a hit, and multiple individuals hoping for lengthy Test careers were revealed to be not up to the mark - in ability or temperament - for the longer format.
Worrying Trend
This represented the second clean sweep on home soil endured by India in just over a year. In 2024, underestimated the Kiwis had achieved a remarkable 3-0 triumph which effectively cost the hosts a place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The latest loss to the Proteas threatens to derail India's chances of qualifying for the decider of this cycle too.
Previously ranked third in the WTC rankings prior to the contest, India have been relegated to number five. Even though nine more Tests are still to come, five of these are against Australia. Usually, playing at home would be a significant benefit - including against the powerful Australians. But the debacles against New Zealand and South Africa provide no basis for such assurance.
Reasons for the Slump
India's weakness in red-ball cricket has been badly exposed. However, the reason India have performed so poorly in Test matches on home soil recently is remains puzzling.
From the year 2000 onwards, India were regarded as impregnable in red-ball cricket in home conditions. Under sweltering weather and on tracks that assisted spinners and benefited their players, the hosts dominated all comers. The occasional loss, like in 2012-13 against the English, was considered an anomaly.
Currently, India look to be vulnerable on home turf.
Against the Kiwis in last year and South Africa currently, India were defeated by their own tactics. The pitches they prepared to suit their strengths failed miserably, as rivals capitalized on them more skillfully, outplaying the Indian batters and bowlers when it counted the most.
The Core Issue
Certain analysts propose that the Indian team is failing in home conditions because domestic pitches have been altered from turners to quick wickets to get cricketers ready to perform better abroad.
Others highlight that the domestic T20 league, in which several international stars take part, has removed the surprise and difficulty home wickets would pose to them in the past.
Although there is some truth in both analyses, it does not clarify the reason the team's showings on home soil have seen such a staggering decline.
Several Weaknesses
Many past stars diagnose a complicated issue, not only one or two factors.
Experts and participants have pointed to multiple deficiencies after the team's humiliating loss to the South Africans: not respecting the foe, inadequate readiness, poor choices, overconfidence, frequent changes of the playing XI, and favoring limited-overs over the longer format.
This was evident in the showings of the squad.
Players like Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom high hopes were held, suffered for their carelessness, while Sai Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were hoping to secure their position in the squad - fell short in technique and temperament, suffering the consequences for their nonchalant approach.
Only a handful - Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Siraj and Sundar - did justice to their talent and reputation - but inadequately to secure victories.
Leadership Under Fire
The post-mortem targeted the entire setup - the selection panel and backroom team were also under fire, driven by upset followers and vocal past stars. Under focus of the criticism was mentor Gambhir.
At his post-series press
