The Indian cricket team's shocking 0-2 series loss to the Proteas in the just finished red-ball series has plunged the side into crisis.
In the final match, South Africa inflicted upon India their heaviest defeat in terms of runs, defying expectations. It marked the Proteas' maiden series victory in the subcontinent in 25 years and India's another home failure in just a year after a 12-year invincible streak.
The winning rhythm gained during the past six months has almost disappeared and the prospects of multiple squad members - including head coach the coach - now hang in the balance.
A Promising Start Disappears
The emerging side's impressive performance in the UK this summer, under a fresh leadership, suggested a seamless changeover post the close together retirements of stalwarts Ashwin, Sharma, and Kohli.
A facile 2-0 victory over West Indies at the start of the domestic season enhanced that perception, till the Proteas came and inflicted a devastating defeat.
India were a bit unlucky that skipper Shubman Gill was injured early on in the first Test and was ruled out in the series. However, that neither explains nor absolves the team of the well below standard display in the two games against South Africa.
Several established players suffered, and several players aspiring to long red-ball careers were revealed to be not up to the mark - in ability or temperament - for the longer format.
Worrying Trend
It was the second clean sweep in home conditions endured by the Indian team in just more than a year. In 2024, unfancied the Kiwis had secured a surprising 3-0 win which essentially denied India a place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The fresh failure to the Proteas risks harming the team's chances of making the showpiece of this season as well.
From number three in the WTC rankings prior to the contest, the side have fallen to number five. Even though nine further games are still to come, half of these are against the Aussies. Ordinarily, performing in familiar conditions would be a huge advantage - including against the mighty Aussies. However the failures against the Kiwis and the Proteas leave little scope for such assurance.
Causes of the Fall
The national team's vulnerability in Test cricket has been badly exposed. However, the reason the team have fared so badly in Tests on home soil in recent times is still bewildering.
From the year 2000 onwards, India were considered impregnable in red-ball cricket in home conditions. In hot, humid conditions and on pitches that favored spin bowling and aided their squad, the hosts faced little challenge. The occasional loss, such as in 2012-13 against the English, was seen as an aberration.
Now, India look to be easy pickings in their own backyard.
Facing the Kiwis in 2024 and the Proteas currently, India were hoisted by their own petard. The surfaces they curated to favor their game failed miserably, as the opposition exploited them better, beating the home team's players when it mattered most.
What Happened?
Certain analysts propose that the Indian team is struggling in home conditions because domestic pitches have been changed from spinning tracks to quick wickets to train the squad to do well overseas.
Others highlight that the Indian Premier League (IPL), in which many overseas players take part, has taken away the mystery and hardship Indian conditions would challenge them with earlier.
While there is some truth in both analyses, it fails to account for why the side's results at home have witnessed such a sharp fall.
Several Weaknesses
Many past stars point to a multi-faceted challenge, not limited to one or two factors.
Analysts and squad members have highlighted various flaws after India's disappointing performance to the South Africans: underrating the rivals, inadequate readiness, questionable picks, excessive self-belief, regular alterations of the team lineup, and favoring limited-overs over Test cricket.
This was evident in the performances of the squad.
Cricketers such as Pant and Jaiswal, of whom high hopes were held, were punished for their lack of application, while Sai Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were aiming to establish their spot in the side - were found wanting in technique and temperament, suffering the consequences for their casual attitude.
Only a handful - Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep, Siraj and Washington Sundar - did justice to their skill and fame - but not well enough to secure victories.
Management Questions
The post-mortem targeted just the players - team selectors and support staff were also under fire, spurred on by distraught fans and vocal past stars. In the spotlight of the examination was team coach Gautam Gambhir.
During his post-series press
