India's surprising 0-2 loss to South Africa in the just finished red-ball series has plunged the side into crisis.
Earlier this week, the visiting team gave India a record defeat in terms of runs, contrary to predictions. It marked South Africa's maiden series victory in the subcontinent in two and a half decades and India's another home failure in just 12 months after a decade-plus without a home loss.
The winning rhythm established in the last several months has largely dissipated and the careers of several players - along with head coach Gautam Gambhir - are under scrutiny.
A Promising Start Fades Quickly
The emerging side's impressive performance in the UK this summer, under a different skipper, suggested a seamless changeover after the almost concurrent retirements of stalwarts Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli.
A straightforward 2-0 victory over West Indies at the beginning of the home season strengthened that view, before the South Africans turned up and handed out a crushing loss.
The home side were a tad unfortunate that leader Shubman Gill got injured very early in the first Test and did not participate again in the series. But that does not excuse or justify the team of the terribly sub-par performance in each match against the opposition.
Several established players took a hit, and several players aspiring to long red-ball careers were exposed as not yet good enough - in skill or mindset - for the format.
A Troubling Pattern
This represented the second series sweep in home conditions suffered by India in just a year. In 2024, underestimated New Zealand had pulled off a surprising 3-0 win which essentially denied India a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The fresh failure to South Africa threatens to derail the team's hopes of making the final of this season also.
After being third in the WTC rankings ahead of the matches, the side have dropped to number five. Even though nine additional matches are yet to be played, five of these are against Australia. Ordinarily, performing in familiar conditions would be a significant benefit - even against the mighty Aussies. Yet the debacles against New Zealand and the Proteas provide no basis for such comfort.
Reasons for the Slump
The national team's weakness in Test cricket has been clearly revealed. Nevertheless, the reason the team have performed so poorly in Tests on home soil in recent times is continues to confuse.
Since the turn of the century, the Indian cricket team were seen as invincible in Test cricket at home. In demanding climates and on pitches that favored spin bowling and suited their batsmen and bowlers, the hosts brooked no opposition. A rare failure, like in 2012-13 against England, was seen as an anomaly.
Today, the team seem beatable on home turf.
Facing the Kiwis in last year and South Africa this year, India were defeated by their own tactics. The pitches they prepared to favor their game backfired spectacularly, as rivals used them more effectively, beating India's batsmen and bowlers when it was most crucial.
What's Gone Wrong?
Some suggest that India is failing in home conditions because local wickets have been modified from turners to pace-friendly pitches to prepare players to succeed in foreign conditions.
A few mention that the domestic T20 league, in which several international stars take part, has reduced the surprise and difficulty home wickets would challenge them with before.
While there is a degree of accuracy in these views, it fails to account for why India's performances on home soil have experienced such a sharp fall.
Multiple Failings
The majority of ex-cricketers identify a multi-faceted challenge, not just a couple of reasons.
Analysts and squad members have highlighted various flaws after the team's disappointing performance to the South Africans: underrating the rivals, poor preparation, questionable picks, overconfidence, regular alterations of the playing XI, and favoring limited-overs over red-ball cricket.
This was clear in the showings of the team.
Players like Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom so much was expected, were punished for their lack of application, while Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Jurel - who were aiming to establish their place in the team - fell short in skill and mindset, suffering the consequences for their casual attitude.
Only a handful - Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep, Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar - lived up to their ability and standing - but not sufficiently to win matches.
Leadership Under Fire
The review didn't spare just the players - the selection panel and support staff were also criticized, spurred on by disappointed supporters and outspoken ex-cricketers. In the spotlight of the scrutiny was head coach Gautam Gambhir.
At his post-series press
