India's unexpected 0-2 loss to South Africa in the just finished Test series has plunged the side into crisis.
Just days ago, the visiting team inflicted upon India their heaviest loss in Test cricket, against all odds. It marked South Africa's initial series triumph in India in two and a half decades and India's another home failure in just one year after a decade-plus without a home loss.
The momentum established in the last several months has almost disappeared and the careers of several players - including head mentor the coach - now hang in the balance.
Early Optimism Disappears
The young team's commendable display in England this summer, under a different skipper, suggested a seamless changeover after the near-simultaneous retirements of stalwarts Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Kohli.
An easy 2-0 victory over West Indies at the beginning of the home campaign boosted that belief, till the Proteas turned up and handed out a fell blow.
India were a tad unfortunate that captain Gill suffered an injury very early in the initial match and did not participate again in the contest. But that fails to account for the squad of the terribly sub-par performance in the two games against South Africa.
Several established players were damaged, and multiple individuals aspiring to extended tenures in Tests were shown as not up to the mark - in skill or mindset - for the longer format.
Worrying Trend
This was the second series sweep at home experienced by India in just over a year. Last year, underestimated New Zealand had pulled off a staggering 3-0 triumph which essentially denied India a berth in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The fresh failure to South Africa risks harming the team's hopes of making the final of this season also.
From number three in the Test championship standings before the series, India have fallen to fifth place. Though nine more Tests are remaining, half of these are against the Aussies. Ordinarily, competing on home turf would be a huge advantage - including against the powerful Australians. However the debacles against the Kiwis and the Proteas leave little scope for such assurance.
Roots of the Decline
The national team's weakness in the longer format has been clearly revealed. That said, the reason the team have struggled so much in Tests on home soil lately is still bewildering.
Since the turn of the century, India were considered impregnable in Test cricket at home. Under sweltering weather and on pitches that helped spin and benefited their players, India brooked no opposition. The occasional loss, like in 2012-13 against the English, was seen as an exception.
Now, India look to be easy pickings at home.
Facing New Zealand in last year and South Africa this year, the home side were hoisted by their own petard. The pitches they curated to suit their strengths went wrong completely, as the opposition capitalized on them more skillfully, outplaying the Indian batters and bowlers when it was most crucial.
The Core Issue
Some suggest that India is floundering in home conditions because local wickets have been modified from turners to quick wickets to get cricketers ready to succeed abroad.
Others highlight that the Indian Premier League (IPL), in which numerous foreign cricketers play, has taken away the unfamiliarity and challenge Indian conditions would pose to them earlier.
Although there is a degree of accuracy in each argument, it fails to account for why the team's showings at home have witnessed such a dramatic drop.
Multiple Failings
Many past stars diagnose a multi-faceted challenge, not limited to a couple of reasons.
Experts and participants have highlighted several failings following the team's disappointing performance to the Proteas: not respecting the foe, inadequate readiness, poor choices, arrogance, constant chopping and changing of the playing XI, and prioritising white-ball over Test cricket.
This was clear in the displays of the squad.
Members such as Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom so much was expected, suffered for their carelessness, while Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were looking to cement their position in the squad - came up short in ability and attitude, facing the fallout for their nonchalant approach.
Just a few - Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Siraj and Washington Sundar - lived up to their skill and fame - but inadequately to win matches.
Leadership Under Fire
The post-mortem also included the entire setup - selectors and support staff were also under fire, driven by distraught fans and outspoken ex-cricketers. In the spotlight of the examination was mentor Gambhir.
At his post-series press
