The Indian cricket team's shocking 0-2 defeat to South Africa in the recent red-ball series has plunged the side into crisis.
Earlier this week, South Africa inflicted upon India their heaviest loss in Test cricket, contrary to predictions. It was the Proteas' first series win in India in a quarter-century and India's another home failure in just 12 months after a 12-year unbeaten run.
The winning rhythm gained during the previous half-year has almost disappeared and the careers of several players - as well as head coach the coach - are under scrutiny.
Initial Hope Vanishes
The young team's commendable display in England this summer, under a different skipper, suggested a smooth transition after the almost concurrent retirements of key players R Ashwin, Sharma, and Kohli.
A straightforward 2-0 victory over West Indies at the start of the home season enhanced that perception, before the South Africans turned up and handed out a fell blow.
The home side were a tad unfortunate that leader Gill suffered an injury quickly in the first Test and did not participate again in the series. Yet that fails to account for the team of the highly disappointing performance in both Tests against South Africa.
A number of star cricketers suffered, and a few members hoping for long red-ball careers were revealed to be not up to the mark - in ability or temperament - for the longer format.
Concerning History
This represented the second whitewash in home conditions suffered by India in just a year. Last year, little-fancied the Kiwis had achieved a remarkable 3-0 victory which essentially denied India a spot in the Test championship finale.
The recent defeat to South Africa could damage the team's chances of making the final of this cycle too.
Previously ranked third in the WTC rankings before the series, the side have fallen to fifth place. Even though nine further games are still to come, five of these are against Australia. Typically, performing in familiar conditions would be a major plus - even when facing the strong Australian side. Yet the failures against the Kiwis and South Africa leave little scope for such comfort.
Causes of the Fall
The national team's frailty in the longer format has been clearly revealed. Nevertheless, the reason the team have struggled so much in Test matches at home lately is still bewildering.
In the 21st century, the Indian cricket team were regarded as unbeatable in Test cricket in home conditions. In demanding climates and on pitches that assisted spinners and benefited their players, the hosts dominated all comers. The occasional loss, such as in 2012-13 against England, was seen as an aberration.
Today, India look to be easy pickings at home.
Facing the Kiwis in last year and South Africa currently, the home side were defeated by their own tactics. The pitches they curated to help their style went wrong completely, as the opposition exploited them better, surpassing India's batsmen and bowlers when it mattered most.
What Happened?
Some suggest that India is struggling at home because local wickets have been changed from spinning tracks to fast tracks to get cricketers ready to succeed overseas.
A few mention that the domestic T20 league, in which many overseas players take part, has removed the surprise and difficulty subcontinental pitches would challenge them with before.
While there is validity in each argument, it still does not explain the reason the side's results at home have experienced such a sharp fall.
Various Shortcomings
Many past stars identify a multi-faceted challenge, not limited to a couple of reasons.
Critics and players have highlighted various flaws following the team's humiliating loss to the Proteas: underrating the rivals, poor preparation, questionable picks, excessive self-belief, regular alterations of the playing XI, and emphasizing white-ball over Test cricket.
This was obvious in the displays of the squad.
Players like Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom great things were anticipated, suffered for their nonchalance, while Sai Sudarshan, Reddy, and Jurel - who were aiming to establish their place in the team - fell short in ability and attitude, suffering the consequences for their nonchalant approach.
Only a handful - Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep, Siraj and Sundar - fulfilled their skill and fame - but not sufficiently to claim wins.
Coaching Scrutiny
The analysis also included the entire setup - team selectors and support staff were also questioned, spurred on by upset followers and vocal past stars. Under focus of the scrutiny was mentor Gautam Gambhir.
In his post-series press
