The Indian cricket team's unexpected 0-2 defeat to South Africa in the recently concluded Test series has plunged the side into crisis.
In the final match, South Africa handed India a record Test defeat by runs, defying expectations. It marked South Africa's maiden series victory in the subcontinent in two and a half decades and the host nation's second home series loss in just a year after a decade-plus without a home loss.
The positive trajectory gained during the previous half-year has almost disappeared and the prospects of several players - along with head coach Gautam Gambhir - are under scrutiny.
Initial Hope Fades Quickly
The young team's impressive performance in England this season, under a different skipper, indicated a successful handover post the close together departures of key players Ashwin, Sharma, and Virat Kohli.
A straightforward 2-0 triumph over the Windies at the beginning of the home campaign strengthened that view, before the Proteas turned up and handed out a fell blow.
The home side were a bit unlucky that captain Gill was injured very early in the opening Test and did not participate again in the contest. Yet that fails to account for the side of the highly disappointing performance in the two games against South Africa.
A number of star cricketers were damaged, and multiple individuals hoping for lengthy Test careers were shown as not up to the mark - in ability or temperament - for the longer format.
A Troubling Pattern
This was the second whitewash at home endured by the Indian team in just a year. Last year, unfancied New Zealand had pulled off a surprising 3-0 win which practically cost the hosts a spot in the Test championship finale.
The latest loss to the Proteas could damage the team's hopes of making the decider of this cycle as well.
After being third in the Test championship standings before the series, the side have fallen to number five. Although nine further games are yet to be played, a majority are against the Aussies. Typically, competing on home turf would be a huge advantage - even when facing the powerful Australians. However the failures against the Kiwis and the Proteas leave little scope for such assurance.
Reasons for the Slump
The national team's vulnerability in red-ball cricket has been clearly revealed. However, the reason India have fared so badly in Tests 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 hot, humid conditions and on tracks that assisted spinners and suited their batsmen and bowlers, the hosts brooked no opposition. The occasional loss, such as in 2012-13 against the English, was viewed as an anomaly.
Currently, India look to be beatable on home turf.
Facing the Kiwis in last year and South Africa currently, the home side were defeated by their own tactics. The pitches they prepared to suit their strengths went wrong completely, as the opposition used them more effectively, surpassing India's batsmen and bowlers when it mattered most.
What Happened?
Some suggest that the Indian team is failing in home conditions because home surfaces have been altered from turners to pace-friendly pitches to get cricketers ready to succeed overseas.
A few mention that the Indian Premier League (IPL), in which many overseas players play, has taken away the unfamiliarity and challenge home wickets would present to them earlier.
Even though there is validity in both analyses, it fails to account for the reason the side's results at home have experienced such a dramatic drop.
Various Shortcomings
The majority of ex-cricketers point to a complicated issue, not limited to a couple of reasons.
Experts and participants have highlighted multiple deficiencies following the team's humiliating loss to the South Africans: not respecting the foe, lack of preparation, poor choices, arrogance, regular alterations of the playing XI, and emphasizing white-ball over red-ball cricket.
This was evident in the performances of the side.
Players like Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom so much was expected, were punished for their carelessness, while Sudarshan, Reddy, and Jurel - who were aiming to establish their spot in the side - were found wanting in ability and attitude, suffering the consequences for their lackadaisical method.
Only a handful - Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Sundar - fulfilled their skill and fame - but not sufficiently to secure victories.
Coaching Scrutiny
The post-mortem didn't spare the entire setup - team selectors and support staff were also questioned, driven by distraught fans and outspoken ex-cricketers. Under focus of the scrutiny was mentor Gautam Gambhir.
In his post-series press
