The Indian cricket team's shocking 0-2 defeat to South Africa in the recently concluded Test series has sent shockwaves through the squad.
Just days ago, South Africa inflicted upon India a record defeat in terms of runs, against all odds. It marked the Proteas' first series win in India in 25 years and India's second home series loss in just one year after a 12-year invincible streak.
The winning rhythm gained during the last several months has almost disappeared and the careers of several players - as well as team coach Gautam Gambhir - are now uncertain.
Early Optimism Disappears
The emerging side's impressive performance in England this season, under a fresh leadership, pointed to a successful handover after the close together exits of veterans R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli.
A straightforward 2-0 triumph over the Windies at the beginning of the home campaign boosted that belief, until the South Africans arrived to deliver a crushing loss.
The home side were a tad unfortunate that skipper Gill was injured very early in the first Test and took no further part in the contest. Yet that fails to account for the side of the terribly sub-par performance in the two games against South Africa.
A number of star cricketers suffered, and multiple individuals aspiring to long red-ball careers were revealed to be not yet good enough - in ability or temperament - for the format.
Worrying Trend
This represented the second whitewash at home endured by the Indian team in just over a year. Last year, little-fancied New Zealand had achieved a surprising 3-0 triumph which effectively cost the hosts a place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The fresh failure to South Africa could damage India's prospects of qualifying for the final of this cycle as well.
After being third in the WTC rankings before the series, India have dropped to the fifth spot. Even though nine further games are remaining, a majority are against the Aussies. Ordinarily, performing in familiar conditions would be a huge advantage - even when facing the powerful Australians. But the debacles against the Kiwis and South Africa leave little scope for such assurance.
Causes of the Fall
India's vulnerability in Test cricket has been significantly highlighted. Nevertheless, the reason India have struggled so much in Tests on home soil in recent times is remains puzzling.
From the year 2000 onwards, the Indian cricket team were regarded as unbeatable in red-ball cricket at home. In hot, humid conditions and on tracks that favored spin bowling and benefited their players, India dominated all comers. The occasional loss, like in 2012-13 against England, was seen as an exception.
Now, the team appear to be beatable on home turf.
Facing the Kiwis in last year and the Proteas currently, India were beaten at their own game. The pitches they developed to suit their strengths backfired spectacularly, as rivals capitalized on them more skillfully, outplaying the home team's players when it counted the most.
What Happened?
A few experts argue that India is floundering in home conditions because domestic pitches have been modified from turners to fast tracks to train the squad to perform better in foreign conditions.
A few mention that the IPL, in which many overseas players take part, has reduced the surprise and difficulty subcontinental pitches would challenge them with before.
While there is validity in both analyses, it does not clarify why the team's showings on home soil have witnessed such a dramatic drop.
Several Weaknesses
The majority of ex-cricketers identify a complicated issue, not only a few causes.
Critics and players have highlighted several failings after India's embarrassing defeat to the Proteas: underrating the rivals, poor preparation, questionable picks, excessive self-belief, constant chopping and changing of the starting eleven, and favoring limited-overs over red-ball cricket.
This was obvious in the showings of the squad.
Members such as Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom great things were anticipated, paid for their carelessness, while Sai Sudarshan, Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were aiming to establish their spot in the side - were found wanting in technique and temperament, suffering the consequences for their casual attitude.
A small number - Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Siraj and Sundar - did justice to their ability and standing - but inadequately to secure victories.
Management Questions
The post-mortem also included not only the cricketers - team selectors and support staff were also under fire, spurred on by disappointed supporters and outspoken ex-cricketers. In the spotlight of the examination was mentor Gautam Gambhir.
During his post-series press
