The Indian cricket team's surprising 0-2 series loss to the Proteas in the recently concluded Test series has left the team reeling.
In the final match, the visiting team handed India a record Test defeat by runs, contrary to predictions. This represented the Proteas' initial series triumph in India in 25 years and India's second defeat at home in just one year after a 12-year unbeaten run.
The winning rhythm established in the last several months has largely dissipated and the futures of multiple squad members - including head mentor the coach - are under scrutiny.
A Promising Start Fades Quickly
The young team's impressive performance in the UK this season, under a fresh leadership, pointed to a smooth transition after the close together retirements of stalwarts R Ashwin, Sharma, and Kohli.
An easy 2-0 win over the Windies at the commencement of the home campaign boosted that belief, till the South Africans came and inflicted a crushing loss.
India were a tad unfortunate that leader Shubman Gill got injured quickly in the opening Test and took no further part in the contest. However, that neither explains nor absolves the team of the well below standard performance in both Tests against the opposition.
A number of star cricketers were damaged, and a few members aspiring to lengthy Test careers were exposed as still inadequate - in ability or temperament - for the Test cricket.
Concerning History
This was the second series sweep on home soil endured by the Indian team in just more than a year. In 2024, underestimated New Zealand had secured a surprising 3-0 win which essentially denied India a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The fresh failure to South Africa risks harming India's prospects of reaching the decider of this edition too.
After being third in the WTC rankings before the series, India have fallen to number five. Even though nine more Tests are still to come, a majority are against the Aussies. Ordinarily, playing at home would be a huge advantage - even against the mighty Aussies. Yet the debacles 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 badly exposed. Nevertheless, the reason the team have fared so badly in Test matches on home soil lately is remains puzzling.
From the year 2000 onwards, India were seen as impregnable in Test cricket in home conditions. Under sweltering weather and on tracks that favored spin bowling and aided their squad, the hosts dominated all comers. The occasional loss, like in the 2012-13 season against the English, was seen as an exception.
Today, India appear to be easy pickings at home.
Facing New Zealand in 2024 and South Africa currently, the home side were hoisted by their own petard. The pitches they developed to help their style failed miserably, as opponents capitalized on them more skillfully, beating the Indian batters and bowlers when it counted the most.
What Happened?
Some suggest that the Indian team is floundering in home conditions because local wickets have been changed from turners to pace-friendly pitches to train the squad to do well overseas.
Others highlight that the domestic T20 league, in which many overseas players play, has removed the surprise and difficulty subcontinental pitches would pose to them in the past.
Even though there is a degree of accuracy in both analyses, it fails to account for why the side's results at home have seen such a sharp fall.
Several Weaknesses
The majority of ex-cricketers point to a complex, multi-headed problem, not only a couple of reasons.
Experts and participants have identified multiple deficiencies after the team's disappointing performance to the South Africans: underestimating the opposition, lack of preparation, flawed selections, excessive self-belief, constant chopping and changing of the playing XI, and prioritising white-ball over Test cricket.
This was clear in the performances of the side.
Members like Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom so much was expected, suffered for their lack of application, while Sai Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were aiming to establish their place in the team - came up short in skill and mindset, suffering the consequences for their casual attitude.
A small number - Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Siraj and Sundar - did justice to their ability and standing - but inadequately to claim wins.
Leadership Under Fire
The review also included the entire setup - team selectors and coaching staff were also criticized, spurred on by distraught fans and critical former players. At the centre of the examination was head coach Gautam Gambhir.
At his post-series press
