The Indian cricket team's surprising 0-2 defeat to South Africa in the just finished red-ball series has left the team reeling.
Just days ago, the visiting team inflicted upon India a record defeat in terms of runs, defying expectations. It was South Africa's initial series triumph in the subcontinent in a quarter-century and India's another home failure in just 12 months after a 12-year unbeaten run.
The positive trajectory built over the last several months has largely dissipated and the careers of several players - along with head mentor Gautam Gambhir - now hang in the balance.
Early Optimism Disappears
The new-look squad's strong showing in the UK this season, under a new captain, suggested a successful handover following the near-simultaneous retirements of veterans R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli.
A straightforward 2-0 win over West Indies at the start of the home season enhanced that perception, until the South Africans came and inflicted a fell blow.
The home side were a tad unfortunate that captain Gill was injured quickly in the opening Test and took no further part in the series. But that fails to account for the side of the highly disappointing display in the two games against South Africa.
Several established players took a hit, and a few members hoping for lengthy Test careers were exposed as still inadequate - in skill or mindset - for the Test cricket.
A Troubling Pattern
It was the second clean sweep on home soil experienced by India in just over a year. Last year, little-fancied New Zealand had achieved a staggering 3-0 victory which effectively cost the hosts a place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The recent defeat to the Proteas threatens to derail the team's prospects of making the final of this cycle also.
From number three in the WTC table before the series, the side have fallen to the fifth spot. Even though nine additional matches are still to come, half of these are against the Aussies. Usually, playing at home would be a significant benefit - including against the mighty Aussies. But the debacles against New Zealand and the Proteas leave little scope for such comfort.
Causes of the Fall
India's vulnerability in Test cricket has been badly exposed. However, why the team have struggled so much in Tests at home lately is remains puzzling.
In the 21st century, the Indian cricket team were considered unbeatable in Test cricket in home conditions. Under sweltering weather and on surfaces that helped spin and aided their squad, India faced little challenge. A rare failure, such as in 2012-13 against the English, was viewed as an exception.
Now, the team look to be easy pickings at home.
Facing New Zealand in last year and the Proteas currently, India were beaten at their own game. The tracks they curated to help their style failed miserably, as opponents used them more effectively, outplaying the home team's players when it mattered most.
What Happened?
Certain analysts propose that the Indian team is floundering at home because local wickets have been altered from spinning tracks to pace-friendly pitches to train the squad to perform better in foreign conditions.
A few mention that the domestic T20 league, in which several international stars participate, has reduced the surprise and difficulty subcontinental pitches would present to them before.
Even though there is a degree of accuracy in both analyses, it fails to account for the reason the team's showings at home have experienced such a staggering decline.
Several Weaknesses
Many past stars point to a multi-faceted challenge, not only a few causes.
Experts and participants have highlighted multiple deficiencies after the team's embarrassing defeat to the South Africans: underestimating the opposition, poor preparation, questionable picks, arrogance, regular alterations of the team lineup, and emphasizing white-ball over the longer format.
This was clear in the displays of the squad.
Cricketers like Pant and Jaiswal, of whom so much was expected, suffered for their carelessness, while Sai Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were looking to cement their spot in the side - fell short in technique and temperament, suffering the consequences for their nonchalant approach.
Only a handful - Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar - lived up to their skill and fame - but inadequately to claim wins.
Leadership Under Fire
The post-mortem didn't spare not only the cricketers - team selectors and backroom team were also questioned, spurred on by distraught fans and critical former players. Under focus of the criticism was mentor Gautam Gambhir.
In his post-series press
