The Indian cricket team's unexpected 0-2 loss to South Africa in the just finished Test series has left the team reeling.
Just days ago, the visiting team gave India their heaviest Test defeat by runs, against all odds. This represented the Proteas' first series win in India in 25 years and India's second home series loss in just 12 months after a 12-year unbeaten run.
The winning rhythm built over the past six months has almost disappeared and the futures of multiple squad members - as well as team coach the coach - are under scrutiny.
Initial Hope Vanishes
The new-look squad's commendable display in the UK this summer, under a different skipper, pointed to a smooth transition after the almost concurrent exits of veterans R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli.
A facile 2-0 victory over West Indies at the commencement of the home season boosted that belief, before the South Africans came and inflicted a crushing loss.
India were a bit unlucky that captain Shubman Gill suffered an injury quickly in the opening Test and took no further part in the series. But that fails to account for the team of the well below standard performance in both Tests against the opposition.
Several established players were damaged, and multiple individuals eyeing lengthy Test careers were exposed as still inadequate - in skill or mindset - for the Test cricket.
A Troubling Pattern
This represented the second whitewash on home soil suffered by the Indian team in just over a year. In 2024, underestimated the Kiwis had secured a staggering 3-0 triumph which essentially denied India a spot in the Test championship finale.
The latest loss to South Africa threatens to derail the team's prospects of qualifying for the final of this edition too.
From number three in the Test championship standings ahead of the matches, India have been relegated to the fifth spot. Although nine additional matches are yet to be played, half of these are against the Aussies. Ordinarily, competing on home turf would be a major plus - even against the mighty Aussies. Yet the failures against the Kiwis and South Africa offer no room for such assurance.
Reasons for the Slump
India's vulnerability in Test cricket has been significantly highlighted. Nevertheless, why the team have struggled so much in Tests on home soil recently is remains puzzling.
Since the turn of the century, the Indian cricket team were regarded as invincible in red-ball cricket in home conditions. Under sweltering weather and on surfaces that helped spin and benefited their players, the hosts brooked no opposition. The occasional loss, such as in the 2012-13 season against England, was seen as an exception.
Today, the team look to be vulnerable at home.
Facing New Zealand in 2024 and the Proteas this year, the home side were defeated by their own tactics. The tracks they prepared to favor their game failed miserably, as the opposition capitalized on them more skillfully, surpassing India's batsmen and bowlers when it mattered most.
The Core Issue
Certain analysts propose that the Indian team is failing at home because domestic pitches have been altered from spinning tracks to quick wickets to get cricketers ready to perform better overseas.
Some point out that the domestic T20 league, in which several international stars take part, has taken away the mystery and hardship home wickets would pose to them in the past.
While there is some truth in these views, it does not clarify the reason India's performances on home soil have seen such a sharp fall.
Various Shortcomings
The majority of ex-cricketers identify a multi-faceted challenge, not only one or two factors.
Critics and players have highlighted multiple deficiencies following India's disappointing performance to the Proteas: underestimating the opposition, inadequate readiness, poor choices, overconfidence, frequent changes of the playing XI, and favoring white-ball over the longer format.
This was clear in the showings of the squad.
Cricketers such as Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom great things were anticipated, were punished for their lack of application, while Sai Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Jurel - who were aiming to establish their place in the team - were found wanting in technique and temperament, facing the fallout for their lackadaisical method.
Only a handful - Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep, Mohammed Siraj and Sundar - fulfilled their ability and standing - but not sufficiently to secure victories.
Management Questions
The analysis also included the entire setup - team selectors and support staff were also questioned, spurred on by disappointed supporters and outspoken ex-cricketers. At the centre of the examination was mentor Gambhir.
In his post-series press
