The Indian cricket team's shocking 0-2 defeat to South Africa in the just finished red-ball series has plunged the side into crisis.
Earlier this week, the visiting team inflicted upon India their heaviest Test defeat by runs, defying expectations. It was South Africa's maiden series victory in India in 25 years and India's another home failure in just one year after a 12-year invincible streak.
The positive trajectory established in the last several months has largely dissipated and the futures of multiple squad members - along with team coach Gautam Gambhir - are under scrutiny.
A Promising Start Fades Quickly
The young team's strong showing in England this season, under a new captain, suggested a successful handover after the almost concurrent retirements of key players R Ashwin, Sharma, and Virat Kohli.
A facile 2-0 triumph over the Windies at the beginning of the domestic season enhanced that perception, before the South Africans came and inflicted a crushing loss.
India were a tad unfortunate that leader Gill was injured early on in the opening Test and took no further part in the series. Yet that fails to account for the side of the highly disappointing showing in each match against South Africa.
A number of star cricketers suffered, and a few members eyeing long red-ball careers were shown as not up to the mark - in skill or mindset - for the longer format.
A Troubling Pattern
This was the second clean sweep at home experienced by India in just more than a year. Last year, little-fancied the Kiwis had achieved a staggering 3-0 win which effectively cost India a berth in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The fresh failure to South Africa could damage India's chances of reaching the showpiece of this edition too.
After being third in the WTC rankings before the series, the side have dropped to number five. Although nine additional matches are still to come, half of these are against the Aussies. Ordinarily, competing on home turf would be a major plus - including against the strong Australian side. However the failures against New Zealand and the Proteas leave little scope for such comfort.
Causes of the Fall
The national team's vulnerability in red-ball cricket has been clearly revealed. Nevertheless, why the team have performed so poorly in Tests on home soil lately is remains puzzling.
Since the turn of the century, India were considered unbeatable in Test cricket in home conditions. Under sweltering weather and on tracks that assisted spinners and benefited their players, the hosts dominated all comers. A rare failure, like in 2012-13 against England, was viewed as an exception.
Currently, India appear to be easy pickings on home turf.
Facing New Zealand in last year and South Africa currently, India were hoisted by their own petard. The tracks they developed to suit their strengths failed miserably, as rivals exploited them better, beating India's batsmen and bowlers when it was most crucial.
What's Gone Wrong?
Certain analysts propose that the Indian team is failing at home because domestic pitches have been altered from spinning tracks to fast tracks to train the squad to perform better in foreign conditions.
A few mention that the Indian Premier League (IPL), in which several international stars take part, has taken away the unfamiliarity and challenge home wickets would challenge them with before.
Although there is some truth in each argument, it does not clarify why India's performances at home have experienced such a dramatic drop.
Various Shortcomings
Most former players point to a multi-faceted challenge, not limited to a few causes.
Critics and players have highlighted various flaws after the team's embarrassing defeat to the South Africans: underestimating the opposition, lack of preparation, questionable picks, excessive self-belief, constant chopping and changing of the playing XI, and favoring white-ball over red-ball cricket.
This was evident in the displays of the squad.
Players such as Pant and Jaiswal, of whom so much was expected, were punished for their lack of application, while Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Jurel - who were hoping to secure their position in the squad - were found wanting in technique and temperament, suffering the consequences for their nonchalant approach.
A small number - Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep, Siraj and Washington Sundar - lived up to their skill and fame - but not well enough to secure victories.
Management Questions
The post-mortem didn't spare the entire setup - team selectors and support staff were also criticized, spurred on by disappointed supporters and vocal past stars. At the centre of the criticism was team coach Gambhir.
At his post-series press
