India's unexpected 0-2 defeat to South Africa in the just finished Test series has sent shockwaves through the squad.
Earlier this week, South Africa gave India a record Test defeat by runs, defying expectations. This represented the Proteas' maiden series victory in the subcontinent in 25 years and India's second defeat at home in just a year after a 12-year invincible streak.
The positive trajectory gained during the past six months has almost disappeared and the futures of several players - as well as head mentor the coach - are now uncertain.
A Promising Start Disappears
The emerging side's strong showing in the UK this season, under a fresh leadership, pointed to a successful handover after the near-simultaneous exits of veterans R Ashwin, Sharma, and Virat Kohli.
A facile 2-0 win over West Indies at the beginning of the home season strengthened that view, before the South Africans turned up and handed out a crushing loss.
The home side were a bit unlucky that leader Gill was injured quickly in the initial match and did not participate again in the series. Yet that fails to account for the side of the well below standard showing in each match against South Africa.
A number of star cricketers were damaged, and multiple individuals hoping for lengthy Test careers were revealed to be not yet good enough - in ability or temperament - for the format.
Concerning History
It was the second clean sweep in home conditions endured by India in just more than a year. Last year, little-fancied New Zealand had pulled off a remarkable 3-0 victory which essentially denied India a berth in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The recent defeat to the Proteas threatens to derail India's hopes of making the decider of this edition as well.
Previously ranked third in the WTC rankings before the series, India have been relegated to number five. Even though nine additional matches are remaining, a majority are against the Aussies. Typically, competing on home turf would be a significant benefit - even against the strong Australian side. But the failures against New Zealand and South Africa provide no basis for such comfort.
Causes of the Fall
The national team's vulnerability in Test cricket has been significantly highlighted. However, why India have performed so poorly in Tests at home in recent times is remains puzzling.
In the 21st century, India were seen as invincible in Test cricket in home conditions. In hot, humid conditions and on pitches that helped spin and benefited their players, India faced little challenge. A rare failure, such as in the 2012-13 season against England, was considered an anomaly.
Today, India seem easy pickings in their own backyard.
Against New Zealand in last year and South Africa currently, India were hoisted by their own petard. The pitches they developed to help their style went wrong completely, as rivals capitalized on them more skillfully, outplaying the Indian batters and bowlers when it counted the most.
What's Gone Wrong?
Certain analysts propose that the Indian team is failing in home conditions because local wickets have been changed from spinning tracks to fast tracks to prepare players to succeed in foreign conditions.
Others highlight that the IPL, in which numerous foreign cricketers take part, has reduced the mystery and hardship Indian conditions would present to them before.
Although there is validity in each argument, it fails to account for the reason the side's results on home soil have witnessed such a sharp fall.
Various Shortcomings
The majority of ex-cricketers point to a complex, multi-headed problem, not only a few causes.
Analysts and squad members have highlighted various flaws following the team's disappointing performance to the Proteas: underrating the rivals, poor preparation, flawed selections, arrogance, regular alterations of the starting eleven, and emphasizing white-ball over the longer format.
This was clear in the performances of the team.
Players such as Rishabh Pant and Jaiswal, of whom so much was expected, paid for their lack of application, while Sai Sudarshan, Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were looking to cement their place in the team - were found wanting in technique and temperament, suffering the consequences for their casual attitude.
Just a few - Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Siraj and Sundar - did justice to their talent and reputation - but not well enough to claim wins.
Management Questions
The post-mortem targeted the entire setup - selectors and support staff were also questioned, driven by disappointed supporters and critical former players. In the spotlight of the scrutiny was mentor Gautam Gambhir.
During his post-series press
