The Indian cricket team's shocking 0-2 loss to South Africa in the recent red-ball series has plunged the side into crisis.
Earlier this week, South Africa handed India their heaviest loss in Test cricket, against all odds. It was South Africa's first series win in India in 25 years and India's second home series loss in just one year after a 12-year unbeaten run.
The winning rhythm built over the last several months has all but vanished and the futures of multiple squad members - along with head coach the coach - are under scrutiny.
A Promising Start Fades Quickly
The young team's impressive performance in England this summer, under a fresh leadership, pointed to a seamless changeover after the near-simultaneous retirements of stalwarts R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Kohli.
A facile 2-0 win over the Windies at the beginning of the home campaign strengthened that view, till the South Africans arrived to deliver a devastating defeat.
India were a tad unfortunate that skipper Shubman Gill suffered an injury quickly in the opening Test and was ruled out in the contest. Yet that neither explains nor absolves the team of the terribly sub-par performance in each match against the opposition.
Some big reputations took a hit, and several players aspiring to extended tenures in Tests were revealed to be not up to the mark - technically or mentally - for the longer format.
A Troubling Pattern
This represented the second clean sweep on home soil experienced by the Indian team in just over a year. Last year, underestimated the Kiwis had pulled off a remarkable 3-0 triumph which effectively cost India a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The fresh failure to South Africa risks harming India's chances of making the final of this season also.
Previously ranked third in the WTC rankings ahead of the matches, the side have dropped to fifth place. Even though nine additional matches are still to come, half of these are against Australia. Ordinarily, playing at home would be a major plus - even against the strong Australian side. But the failures against the Kiwis and the Proteas leave little scope for such assurance.
Causes of the Fall
India's vulnerability in the longer format has been badly exposed. However, why India have performed so poorly in Test matches at home in recent times is continues to confuse.
From the year 2000 onwards, India were seen as impregnable in red-ball cricket in home conditions. In demanding climates and on tracks that favored spin bowling and benefited their players, the hosts dominated all comers. A rare failure, such as in 2012-13 against the English, was considered an aberration.
Now, India appear to be beatable on home turf.
Against New Zealand in last year and South Africa currently, India were defeated by their own tactics. The surfaces they curated to help their style went wrong completely, as rivals capitalized on them more skillfully, outplaying the Indian batters and bowlers when it mattered most.
The Core Issue
A few experts argue that India is floundering at home because local wickets have been changed from spinning tracks to quick wickets to prepare players to perform better overseas.
A few mention that the domestic T20 league, in which several international stars take part, has taken away the surprise and difficulty subcontinental pitches would present to them before.
Although there is validity in both analyses, it fails to account for the reason the team's showings on home soil have witnessed such a sharp fall.
Multiple Failings
Many past stars identify a multi-faceted challenge, not only one or two factors.
Critics and players have pointed to multiple deficiencies after India's embarrassing defeat to the Proteas: underrating the rivals, poor preparation, questionable picks, arrogance, constant chopping and changing of the playing XI, and favoring limited-overs over red-ball cricket.
This was clear in the showings of the side.
Players like Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom great things were anticipated, suffered for their lack of application, while Sai Sudarshan, Reddy, and Jurel - who were looking to cement their spot in the side - fell short in technique and temperament, facing the fallout for their casual attitude.
A small number - Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep, Mohammed Siraj and Sundar - fulfilled their skill and fame - but not sufficiently to secure victories.
Leadership Under Fire
The post-mortem also included the entire setup - the selection panel and support staff were also under fire, fuelled by distraught fans and vocal past stars. At the centre of the criticism was head coach Gambhir.
In his post-series press
