India's unexpected 0-2 loss to South Africa in the recent red-ball series has sent shockwaves through the squad.
Just days ago, South Africa handed India a record defeat in terms of runs, defying expectations. It marked the Proteas' maiden series victory in India in two and a half decades and India's second defeat at home in just a year after a 12-year unbeaten run.
The positive trajectory established in the previous half-year has almost disappeared and the prospects of a number of cricketers - including head mentor the coach - now hang in the balance.
Initial Hope Fades Quickly
The emerging side's impressive performance in the UK this season, under a fresh leadership, indicated a successful handover after the almost concurrent retirements of veterans Ashwin, Sharma, and Kohli.
A facile 2-0 win over West Indies at the commencement of the home season boosted that belief, until the South Africans turned up and handed out a crushing loss.
India were somewhat unlucky that captain Shubman Gill was injured quickly in the opening Test and was ruled out in the series. Yet that neither explains nor absolves the squad of the highly disappointing performance in each match against the opposition.
Some big reputations took a hit, and several players aspiring to extended tenures in Tests were shown as not yet good enough - in skill or mindset - for the Test cricket.
Worrying Trend
This represented the second clean sweep on home soil experienced by the Indian team in just more than a year. In 2024, underestimated New Zealand had secured a staggering 3-0 win which effectively cost the hosts a place in the WTC final.
The recent defeat to South Africa threatens to derail the team's prospects of reaching the showpiece of this edition as well.
After being third in the WTC rankings before the series, the side have been relegated to number five. Even though nine further games are still to come, half of these are against the Aussies. Typically, playing at home would be a huge advantage - even against the strong Australian side. But the disasters against the Kiwis and South Africa provide no basis for that confidence.
Causes of the Fall
The national team's weakness in red-ball cricket has been badly exposed. Nevertheless, why India have performed so poorly in Tests at home recently is remains puzzling.
Since the turn of the century, the Indian cricket team were seen as invincible in red-ball cricket at home. Under sweltering weather and on pitches that assisted spinners and suited their batsmen and bowlers, the hosts faced little challenge. The occasional loss, such as in the 2012-13 season against the English, was considered an exception.
Today, the team seem vulnerable on home turf.
Facing the Kiwis in last year and South Africa this year, India were beaten at their own game. The tracks they curated to suit their strengths went wrong completely, as opponents exploited them better, surpassing the Indian batters and bowlers when it counted the most.
What's Gone Wrong?
A few experts argue that the Indian team is failing at home because home surfaces have been changed from spinning tracks to quick wickets to train the squad to succeed overseas.
A few mention that the IPL, in which several international stars take part, has reduced the surprise and difficulty home wickets would present to them earlier.
Although there is some truth in both analyses, it still does not explain the reason the side's results on home soil have witnessed such a dramatic drop.
Multiple Failings
Most former players identify a multi-faceted challenge, not only a couple of reasons.
Experts and participants have pointed to several failings following the team's embarrassing defeat to the Proteas: not respecting the foe, poor preparation, questionable picks, arrogance, constant chopping and changing of the team lineup, and favoring white-ball over red-ball cricket.
This was evident in the displays of the squad.
Cricketers such as Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom great things were anticipated, suffered for their nonchalance, while Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Jurel - who were looking to cement their place in the team - fell short in ability and attitude, suffering the consequences for their lackadaisical method.
Only a handful - Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Siraj and Washington Sundar - fulfilled their ability and standing - but not sufficiently to win matches.
Leadership Under Fire
The review targeted the entire setup - team selectors and support staff were also criticized, driven by upset followers and outspoken ex-cricketers. At the centre of the criticism was head coach Gambhir.
In his post-series press
