India's surprising 0-2 defeat to South Africa in the recently concluded red-ball series has left the team reeling.
Just days ago, the visiting team handed India a record defeat in terms of runs, contrary to predictions. It was South Africa's first series win in India in 25 years and India's second defeat at home in just 12 months after a 12-year invincible streak.
The positive trajectory gained during the past six months has all but vanished and the futures of a number of cricketers - as well as head coach the coach - are now uncertain.
Early Optimism Fades Quickly
The emerging side's strong showing in the UK this summer, under a new captain, pointed to a seamless changeover post the near-simultaneous departures of stalwarts Ashwin, Sharma, and Kohli.
A straightforward 2-0 win over West Indies at the start of the home season boosted that belief, until the Proteas arrived to deliver a crushing loss.
The home side were somewhat unlucky that leader Shubman Gill was injured early on in the first Test and did not participate again in the contest. However, that neither explains nor absolves the squad of the terribly sub-par display in both Tests against South Africa.
Some big reputations took a hit, and multiple individuals hoping for lengthy Test careers were shown as not up to the mark - technically or mentally - for the Test cricket.
A Troubling Pattern
It was the second series sweep in home conditions endured by India in just more than a year. Last year, underestimated New Zealand had achieved a surprising 3-0 victory which effectively cost the hosts a berth in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The fresh failure to the Proteas risks harming the team's hopes of qualifying for the decider of this edition too.
After being third in the WTC rankings before the series, the side have dropped to number five. Although nine more Tests are still to come, five of these are against Australia. Typically, playing at home would be a significant benefit - even against the strong Australian side. But the debacles against the Kiwis and the Proteas leave little scope for that confidence.
Reasons for the Slump
India's vulnerability in the longer format has been clearly revealed. However, why India have struggled so much in Test matches on home soil recently is still bewildering.
From the year 2000 onwards, the Indian cricket team were regarded as invincible in Test cricket in home conditions. In hot, humid conditions and on surfaces that assisted spinners and benefited their players, the hosts faced little challenge. A rare failure, like in 2012-13 against the English, was seen as an aberration.
Today, India appear to be beatable on home turf.
Facing the Kiwis in last year and the Proteas currently, the home side were hoisted by their own petard. The surfaces they curated to help their style went wrong completely, as the opposition used them more effectively, beating the Indian batters and bowlers when it mattered most.
What Happened?
A few experts argue that the Indian team is failing at home because domestic pitches have been altered from spinning tracks to fast tracks to prepare players to do well abroad.
A few mention that the IPL, in which many overseas players take part, has reduced the mystery and hardship home wickets would challenge them with before.
Although there is a degree of accuracy in both analyses, it does not clarify why the team's showings at home have witnessed such a dramatic drop.
Several Weaknesses
Most former players point to a complicated issue, not just a couple of reasons.
Analysts and squad members have pointed to multiple deficiencies after India's humiliating loss to the Proteas: underrating the rivals, inadequate readiness, questionable picks, arrogance, constant chopping and changing of the playing XI, and favoring limited-overs over the longer format.
This was obvious in the showings of the side.
Cricketers like Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom high hopes were held, were punished for their lack of application, while Sai Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Jurel - who were looking to cement their place in the team - fell short in ability and attitude, facing the fallout for their casual attitude.
Just a few - Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep, Siraj and Sundar - lived up to their skill and fame - but not well enough to win matches.
Leadership Under Fire
The post-mortem didn't spare not only the cricketers - team selectors and coaching staff were also criticized, spurred on by upset followers and vocal past stars. Under focus of the examination was mentor Gautam Gambhir.
During his post-series press
