India's shocking 0-2 defeat to the Proteas in the just finished Test series has sent shockwaves through the squad.
Just days ago, the visiting team handed India a record Test defeat by runs, contrary to predictions. This represented South Africa's maiden series victory in the subcontinent in two and a half decades and the host nation's second defeat at home in just one year after a decade-plus without a home loss.
The positive trajectory established in the past six months has almost disappeared and the careers of several players - including team coach the coach - are under scrutiny.
A Promising Start Disappears
The young team's commendable display in the UK this summer, under a different skipper, indicated a smooth transition after the almost concurrent departures of veterans R Ashwin, Sharma, and Kohli.
An easy 2-0 win over West Indies at the beginning of the home season strengthened that view, before the Proteas arrived to deliver a crushing loss.
The home side were somewhat unlucky that skipper Gill suffered an injury early on in the initial match and took no further part in the series. However, that does not excuse or justify the team of the highly disappointing performance in the two games against South Africa.
Some big reputations suffered, and multiple individuals hoping for long red-ball careers were revealed to be not yet good enough - in ability or temperament - for the Test cricket.
Concerning History
This represented the second whitewash at home suffered by the Indian team in just a year. Last year, underestimated the Kiwis had pulled off a remarkable 3-0 win which essentially denied the hosts a spot in the WTC final.
The latest loss to the Proteas threatens to derail India's chances of making the showpiece of this edition also.
From number three in the WTC table ahead of the matches, India have fallen to fifth place. Although nine further games are still to come, five of these are against Australia. Ordinarily, performing in familiar conditions would be a significant benefit - including against the powerful Australians. However the debacles against New Zealand and the Proteas offer no room for that confidence.
Reasons for the Slump
India's frailty in the longer format has been badly exposed. Nevertheless, the reason the team have struggled so much in Tests at home in recent times is remains puzzling.
Since the turn of the century, the Indian cricket team were seen as impregnable in Test cricket in home conditions. In hot, humid conditions and on surfaces that assisted spinners and benefited their players, the hosts brooked no opposition. A rare failure, such as in 2012-13 against the English, was considered an anomaly.
Now, the team appear to be beatable on home turf.
Facing the Kiwis in last year and the Proteas currently, India were hoisted by their own petard. The pitches they prepared to help their style backfired spectacularly, as the opposition capitalized on them more skillfully, surpassing India's batsmen and bowlers when it counted the most.
What Happened?
A few experts argue that India is failing at home because local wickets have been changed from spinning tracks to quick wickets to prepare players to perform better abroad.
Others highlight that the IPL, in which many overseas players participate, has reduced the surprise and difficulty subcontinental pitches would present to them earlier.
Although there is a degree of accuracy in these views, it still does not explain why the side's results at home have witnessed such a sharp fall.
Various Shortcomings
Most former players diagnose a multi-faceted challenge, not limited to a few causes.
Analysts and squad members have pointed to multiple deficiencies post India's disappointing performance to the South Africans: underrating the rivals, poor preparation, poor choices, excessive self-belief, frequent changes of the team lineup, and prioritising white-ball over red-ball cricket.
This was clear in the displays of the team.
Cricketers like Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom so much was expected, paid for their nonchalance, while Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were aiming to establish their position in the squad - came up short in technique and temperament, suffering the consequences for their nonchalant approach.
Only a handful - Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar - did justice to their skill and fame - but not well enough to secure victories.
Management Questions
The review also included the entire setup - team selectors and support staff were also under fire, driven by disappointed supporters and critical former players. Under focus of the criticism was team coach Gautam Gambhir.
During his post-series press
