The Indian cricket team's shocking 0-2 series loss to the Proteas in the recent Test series has left the team reeling.
Earlier this week, the visiting team inflicted upon India their heaviest Test defeat by runs, against all odds. It marked the Proteas' initial series triumph in the subcontinent in 25 years and the host nation's second defeat at home in just one year after a decade-plus without a home loss.
The positive trajectory built over the previous half-year has largely dissipated and the prospects of multiple squad members - including head mentor the coach - are under scrutiny.
Early Optimism Disappears
The young team's impressive performance in England this season, under a different skipper, indicated a successful handover after the almost concurrent retirements of key players R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli.
A facile 2-0 victory over the Windies at the commencement of the domestic season strengthened that view, till the South Africans turned up and handed out a crushing loss.
The home side were a tad unfortunate that captain Gill got injured quickly in the initial match and was ruled out in the contest. But that neither explains nor absolves the side of the terribly sub-par performance in both Tests against the opposition.
A number of star cricketers suffered, and several players aspiring to lengthy Test careers were revealed to be not yet good enough - in skill or mindset - for the Test cricket.
A Troubling Pattern
It was the second clean sweep on home soil endured by the Indian team in just a year. In 2024, unfancied New Zealand had achieved a staggering 3-0 victory which effectively cost the hosts a place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The fresh failure to the Proteas could damage the team's prospects of reaching the decider of this season as well.
After being third in the WTC rankings ahead of the matches, India have fallen to fifth place. Though nine additional matches are still to come, a majority are against the Aussies. Usually, performing in familiar conditions would be a major plus - even against the strong Australian side. But the debacles against the Kiwis and the Proteas provide no basis for that confidence.
Roots of the Decline
India's weakness in red-ball cricket has been badly exposed. That said, why the team have struggled so much in Test matches at home lately is remains puzzling.
From the year 2000 onwards, India were considered impregnable in red-ball cricket in home conditions. Under sweltering weather and on pitches that helped spin and suited their batsmen and bowlers, the hosts dominated all comers. The occasional loss, like in 2012-13 against the English, was seen as an aberration.
Today, the team appear to be beatable at home.
Against the Kiwis in last year and South Africa this year, India were hoisted by their own petard. The tracks they curated to help their style went wrong completely, as opponents capitalized on them more skillfully, beating India's batsmen and bowlers when it mattered most.
What's Gone Wrong?
A few experts argue that the Indian team is struggling in home conditions because local wickets have been altered from spinning tracks to pace-friendly pitches to prepare players to succeed overseas.
Some point out that the domestic T20 league, in which numerous foreign cricketers take part, has taken away the surprise and difficulty home wickets would pose to them before.
While there is validity in these views, it does not clarify why India's performances on home soil have witnessed such a dramatic drop.
Various Shortcomings
The majority of ex-cricketers point to a multi-faceted challenge, not just one or two factors.
Experts and participants have highlighted several failings after India's disappointing performance to the Proteas: underestimating the opposition, inadequate readiness, questionable picks, excessive self-belief, constant chopping and changing of the starting eleven, and prioritising white-ball over the longer format.
This was clear in the displays of the side.
Members like Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom great things were anticipated, paid for their carelessness, while Sudarshan, 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 casual attitude.
A small number - Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep, Mohammed Siraj and Sundar - did justice to their skill and fame - but inadequately to win matches.
Management Questions
The post-mortem also included not only the cricketers - the selection panel and backroom team were also criticized, driven by upset followers and vocal past stars. In the spotlight of the scrutiny was head coach Gautam Gambhir.
At his post-series press
