The Indian cricket team's shocking 0-2 defeat to the Proteas in the just finished Test series has sent shockwaves through the squad.
Earlier this week, South Africa inflicted upon India a record Test defeat by runs, contrary to predictions. It marked South Africa's initial series triumph in India in 25 years and the host nation's second defeat at home in just a year after a decade-plus without a home loss.
The winning rhythm gained during the previous half-year has all but vanished and the careers of several players - as well as team coach the coach - are under scrutiny.
Early Optimism Vanishes
The young team's impressive performance in England this season, under a new captain, pointed to a successful handover post the almost concurrent departures of key players R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Kohli.
A facile 2-0 win over West Indies at the beginning of the home season strengthened that view, until the Proteas came and inflicted a crushing loss.
India were a tad unfortunate that captain Gill got injured early on in the opening Test and did not participate again in the contest. Yet that does not excuse or justify the side of the terribly sub-par display in the two games against South Africa.
Some big reputations suffered, and multiple individuals hoping for long red-ball careers were revealed to be not yet good enough - in ability or temperament - for the Test cricket.
A Troubling Pattern
This represented the second clean sweep at home experienced by India in just over a year. Last year, unfancied the Kiwis had secured a remarkable 3-0 win which practically cost India a berth in the Test championship finale.
The fresh failure to the Proteas threatens to derail India's hopes of making the final of this cycle too.
From number three in the WTC rankings ahead of the matches, the side have dropped to number five. Though nine further games are yet to be played, five of these are against Australia. Usually, performing in familiar conditions would be a major plus - even against the mighty Aussies. Yet the failures against the Kiwis and South Africa provide no basis for such assurance.
Roots of the Decline
The national team's weakness in red-ball cricket has been clearly revealed. However, the reason the team have performed so poorly in Tests on home soil recently is continues to confuse.
In the 21st century, India were regarded as unbeatable in red-ball cricket at home. In hot, humid conditions and on surfaces that assisted spinners and aided their squad, the hosts brooked no opposition. The odd series defeat, such as in the 2012-13 season against England, was viewed as an anomaly.
Currently, the team appear to be easy pickings in their own backyard.
Against the Kiwis in last year and the Proteas currently, India were beaten at their own game. The tracks they developed to favor their game went wrong completely, as opponents exploited them better, beating the Indian batters and bowlers when it counted the most.
What Happened?
Certain analysts propose that India is floundering in home conditions because home surfaces have been changed from spinning tracks to quick wickets to train the squad to perform better in foreign conditions.
A few mention that the Indian Premier League (IPL), in which several international stars participate, has reduced the mystery and hardship Indian conditions would present to them in the past.
Even though there is a degree of accuracy in each argument, it still does not explain why India's performances at home have witnessed such a dramatic drop.
Several Weaknesses
The majority of ex-cricketers diagnose a multi-faceted challenge, not limited to a few causes.
Experts and participants have highlighted multiple deficiencies after the team's humiliating loss to the South Africans: underrating the rivals, lack of preparation, poor choices, excessive self-belief, frequent changes of the team lineup, and emphasizing white-ball over red-ball cricket.
This was evident in the performances of the team.
Members such as Pant and Jaiswal, of whom great things were anticipated, were punished for their nonchalance, while Sai Sudarshan, Reddy, and Jurel - who were hoping to secure their spot in the side - fell short in technique and temperament, suffering the consequences for their lackadaisical method.
Just a few - Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep, Siraj and Washington Sundar - did justice to their ability and standing - but inadequately to claim wins.
Management Questions
The post-mortem didn't spare not only the cricketers - the selection panel and coaching staff were also criticized, driven by upset followers and vocal past stars. In the spotlight of the criticism was mentor Gautam Gambhir.
During his post-series press
