The Indian cricket team's surprising 0-2 loss to the Proteas in the just finished red-ball series has plunged the side into crisis.
In the final match, the visiting team gave India a record defeat in terms of runs, defying expectations. It marked South Africa's first series win in India in two and a half decades and India's another home failure in just a year after a 12-year unbeaten run.
The positive trajectory built over the past six months has almost disappeared and the futures of a number of cricketers - including head coach Gautam Gambhir - are now uncertain.
A Promising Start Fades Quickly
The new-look squad's strong showing in the UK this season, under a new captain, suggested a seamless changeover post the close together retirements of veterans Ashwin, Sharma, and Kohli.
A straightforward 2-0 win over West Indies at the commencement of the domestic season strengthened that view, before the Proteas arrived to deliver a crushing loss.
The home side were a tad unfortunate that captain Shubman Gill was injured quickly in the first Test and did not participate again in the series. Yet that does not excuse or justify the team of the well below standard showing in each match against South Africa.
Several established players suffered, and several players aspiring to long red-ball careers were exposed as not yet good enough - technically or mentally - for the Test cricket.
A Troubling Pattern
This represented the second clean sweep at home experienced by the Indian team in just more than a year. In 2024, little-fancied New Zealand had secured a staggering 3-0 win which practically cost India a spot in the WTC final.
The latest loss to South Africa risks harming the team's chances of qualifying for the final of this season too.
After being third in the Test championship standings ahead of the matches, India have been relegated to fifth place. Although nine more Tests are yet to be played, half of these are against the Aussies. Ordinarily, performing in familiar conditions would be a huge advantage - even against the powerful Australians. But the disasters against New Zealand and South Africa leave little scope for such assurance.
Roots of the Decline
India's weakness in red-ball cricket has been significantly highlighted. That said, why the team have struggled so much in Tests at home lately is still bewildering.
Since the turn of the century, the Indian cricket team were considered invincible in Test cricket in home conditions. Under sweltering weather and on tracks that favored spin bowling and suited their batsmen and bowlers, India faced little challenge. A rare failure, such as in 2012-13 against the English, was seen as an exception.
Currently, the team look to be beatable in their own backyard.
Facing New Zealand in last year and the Proteas this year, India were defeated by their own tactics. The pitches they prepared to favor their game failed miserably, as the opposition capitalized on them more skillfully, beating the home team's players when it was most crucial.
What's Gone Wrong?
A few experts argue that the Indian team is floundering at home because home surfaces have been altered from turners to fast tracks to prepare players to do well overseas.
Others highlight that the domestic T20 league, in which many overseas players participate, has reduced the unfamiliarity and challenge subcontinental pitches would present to them before.
Even though there is a degree of accuracy in these views, it does not clarify the reason the side's results on home soil have witnessed such a dramatic drop.
Various Shortcomings
Many past stars diagnose a complex, multi-headed problem, not limited to one or two factors.
Analysts and squad members have pointed to multiple deficiencies following the team's humiliating loss to the South Africans: underrating the rivals, inadequate readiness, questionable picks, arrogance, frequent changes of the playing XI, and prioritising limited-overs over the longer format.
This was evident in the performances of the side.
Members like Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom great things were anticipated, suffered for their lack of application, while Sai Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were hoping to secure their place in the team - came up short in ability and attitude, suffering the consequences for their lackadaisical method.
A small number - Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep, Siraj and Washington Sundar - fulfilled their talent and reputation - but not sufficiently to win matches.
Leadership Under Fire
The analysis targeted the entire setup - the selection panel and support staff were also under fire, driven by upset followers and outspoken ex-cricketers. At the centre of the examination was head coach Gautam Gambhir.
In his post-series press
