India's surprising 0-2 loss to the Proteas in the recent red-ball series has sent shockwaves through the squad.
In the final match, the visiting team handed India their heaviest loss in Test cricket, defying expectations. This represented South Africa's initial series triumph in India in a quarter-century and India's second defeat at home in just a year after a decade-plus without a home loss.
The momentum gained during the last several months has all but vanished and the careers of multiple squad members - along with team coach the coach - are now uncertain.
A Promising Start Disappears
The emerging side's strong showing in England this season, under a new captain, suggested a successful handover following the near-simultaneous departures of key players R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Kohli.
A facile 2-0 triumph over West Indies at the beginning of the home campaign strengthened that view, till the Proteas turned up and handed out a crushing loss.
India were somewhat unlucky that captain Shubman Gill got injured very early in the first Test and did not participate again in the series. Yet that does not excuse or justify the squad of the highly disappointing performance in each match against the opposition.
A number of star cricketers were damaged, and several players aspiring to extended tenures in Tests were revealed to be not yet good enough - in skill or mindset - for the Test cricket.
Worrying Trend
This was the second series sweep in home conditions endured by India in just more than a year. In 2024, underestimated the Kiwis had achieved a remarkable 3-0 victory which effectively cost India a berth in the Test championship finale.
The fresh failure to the Proteas risks harming the team's chances of reaching the decider of this edition also.
Previously ranked third in the WTC table ahead of the matches, the side have been relegated to the fifth spot. Even though nine more Tests are still to come, half of these are against Australia. Typically, playing at home would be a huge advantage - including against the mighty Aussies. But the failures against the Kiwis and South Africa offer no room for such comfort.
Roots of the Decline
India's vulnerability in red-ball cricket has been significantly highlighted. Nevertheless, the reason India have fared so badly in Tests on home soil lately is remains puzzling.
Since the turn of the century, India were seen as impregnable in red-ball cricket at home. In hot, humid conditions and on pitches that helped spin and benefited their players, the hosts dominated all comers. The odd series defeat, like in the 2012-13 season against the English, was seen as an anomaly.
Today, the team seem beatable in their own backyard.
Versus New Zealand in 2024 and the Proteas this year, the home side were hoisted by their own petard. The pitches they developed to help their style backfired spectacularly, as opponents capitalized on them more skillfully, outplaying India's batsmen and bowlers when it counted the most.
The Core Issue
A few experts argue that India is struggling at home because local wickets have been modified from turners to fast tracks to prepare players to succeed overseas.
Others highlight that the IPL, in which many overseas players play, has removed the unfamiliarity and challenge subcontinental pitches would pose to them in the past.
While there is some truth in these views, it does not clarify why India's performances at home have witnessed such a dramatic drop.
Various Shortcomings
Many past stars point to a complex, multi-headed problem, not limited to a couple of reasons.
Experts and participants have identified multiple deficiencies after the team's embarrassing defeat to the South Africans: underrating the rivals, poor preparation, flawed selections, overconfidence, frequent changes of the playing XI, and favoring white-ball over red-ball cricket.
This was clear in the showings of the squad.
Cricketers like Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom great things were anticipated, were punished for their lack of application, while Sudarshan, Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were looking to cement their place in the team - came up short in ability and attitude, paying a heavy price for their casual attitude.
Only a handful - Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Siraj and Sundar - did justice to their talent and reputation - but inadequately to win matches.
Leadership Under Fire
The post-mortem also included the entire setup - the selection panel and support staff were also questioned, fuelled by disappointed supporters and outspoken ex-cricketers. At the centre of the examination was team coach Gautam Gambhir.
In his post-series press
