India's surprising 0-2 loss to South Africa in the recent red-ball series has left the team reeling.
Earlier this week, South Africa handed India a record loss in Test cricket, against all odds. It was the Proteas' first series win in India in two and a half decades and the host nation's second home series loss in just 12 months after a 12-year invincible streak.
The positive trajectory built over the past six months has almost disappeared and the prospects of multiple squad members - including head mentor the coach - are now uncertain.
A Promising Start Disappears
The emerging side's impressive performance in the UK this season, under a new captain, suggested a successful handover post the close together retirements of stalwarts Ashwin, Sharma, and Virat Kohli.
A straightforward 2-0 win over the Windies at the start of the home season boosted that belief, before the South Africans arrived to deliver a crushing loss.
India were a tad unfortunate that leader Gill got injured very early in the first Test and was ruled out in the series. But that fails to account for the squad of the well below standard performance in the two games against the opposition.
Several established players suffered, and multiple individuals aspiring to lengthy Test careers were shown as not yet good enough - in skill or mindset - for the longer format.
A Troubling Pattern
This was the second whitewash on home soil endured by the Indian team in just over a year. Last year, unfancied New Zealand had pulled off a staggering 3-0 victory which effectively cost India a spot in the WTC final.
The latest loss to South Africa threatens to derail India's hopes of making the final of this edition too.
From number three in the Test championship standings ahead of the matches, the side have dropped to the fifth spot. Though nine further games are remaining, five of these are against Australia. Usually, performing in familiar conditions would be a significant benefit - even when facing the powerful Australians. But the disasters against the Kiwis and South Africa leave little scope for such comfort.
Reasons for the Slump
The national team's vulnerability in red-ball cricket has been badly exposed. Nevertheless, why India have performed so poorly in Tests on home soil lately is continues to confuse.
In the 21st century, the Indian cricket team were seen as unbeatable in red-ball cricket at home. Under sweltering weather and on tracks that helped spin and benefited their players, the hosts dominated all comers. A rare failure, like in the 2012-13 season against the English, was viewed as an anomaly.
Now, the team seem beatable on home turf.
Against New Zealand in last year and the Proteas this year, India were beaten at their own game. The tracks they developed to help their style went wrong completely, as the opposition capitalized on them more skillfully, surpassing the Indian batters and bowlers when it was most crucial.
The Core Issue
A few experts argue that India is struggling at home because local wickets have been altered from spinning tracks to fast tracks to prepare players to do well in foreign conditions.
Some point out that the Indian Premier League (IPL), in which many overseas players take part, has reduced the mystery and hardship Indian conditions would present to them in the past.
While there is some truth in each argument, it fails to account for the reason the side's results at home have witnessed such a sharp fall.
Multiple Failings
Most former players identify a complex, multi-headed problem, not just a few causes.
Experts and participants have identified multiple deficiencies following India's humiliating loss to the South Africans: underestimating the opposition, lack of preparation, poor choices, excessive self-belief, constant chopping and changing of the starting eleven, and emphasizing white-ball over red-ball cricket.
This was clear in the performances of the squad.
Members like Pant and Jaiswal, of whom so much was expected, paid for their nonchalance, while Sai Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were aiming to establish their place in the team - came up short in technique and temperament, facing the fallout for their lackadaisical method.
Just a few - Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar - did justice to their skill and fame - but inadequately to claim wins.
Coaching Scrutiny
The post-mortem also included not only the cricketers - team selectors and backroom team were also criticized, driven by distraught fans and vocal past stars. At the centre of the scrutiny was head coach Gautam Gambhir.
At his post-series press
