The Indian cricket team's shocking 0-2 defeat to the Proteas in the recently concluded Test series has plunged the side into crisis.
Earlier this week, the visiting team gave India a record defeat in terms of runs, against all odds. This represented South Africa's first series win in the subcontinent in two and a half decades and the host nation's another home failure in just 12 months after a 12-year invincible streak.
The positive trajectory built over the past six months has almost disappeared and the careers of a number of cricketers - along with team coach the coach - are under scrutiny.
A Promising Start Disappears
The emerging side's strong showing in England this summer, under a fresh leadership, indicated a smooth transition following the almost concurrent exits of key players Ashwin, Sharma, and Kohli.
A facile 2-0 triumph over the Windies at the beginning of the home season enhanced that perception, before the South Africans came and inflicted a devastating defeat.
India were somewhat unlucky that captain Gill was injured early on in the initial match and was ruled out in the contest. However, that fails to account for the squad of the terribly sub-par performance in both Tests against South Africa.
Some big reputations suffered, and multiple individuals hoping for lengthy Test careers were shown as still inadequate - in ability or temperament - for the format.
Concerning History
This represented the second clean sweep at home experienced by India in just over a year. Last year, little-fancied the Kiwis had achieved a remarkable 3-0 victory which effectively cost India a spot in the Test championship finale.
The fresh failure to the Proteas risks harming India's prospects of reaching the showpiece of this edition also.
Previously ranked third in the WTC rankings prior to the contest, India have fallen to the fifth spot. Though nine additional matches are still to come, half of these are against the Aussies. Ordinarily, performing in familiar conditions would be a huge advantage - including against the powerful Australians. But the failures against New Zealand and South Africa leave little scope for that confidence.
Causes of the Fall
The national team's vulnerability in Test cricket has been badly exposed. That said, why the team have fared so badly in Tests at home recently is continues to confuse.
From the year 2000 onwards, India were seen as invincible in red-ball cricket at home. Under sweltering weather and on pitches that favored spin bowling and benefited their players, the hosts dominated all comers. The odd series defeat, such as in 2012-13 against England, was considered an aberration.
Today, India seem easy pickings on home turf.
Versus New Zealand in last year and South Africa currently, India were defeated by their own tactics. The surfaces they prepared to suit their strengths went wrong completely, as the opposition capitalized on them more skillfully, beating India's batsmen and bowlers when it was most crucial.
What's Gone Wrong?
Some suggest that the Indian team is struggling in home conditions because domestic pitches have been altered from spinning tracks to fast tracks to get cricketers ready to succeed abroad.
Others highlight that the IPL, in which numerous foreign cricketers play, has taken away the surprise and difficulty Indian conditions would present to them before.
Even though there is some truth in both analyses, it fails to account for the reason India's performances on home soil have experienced such a dramatic drop.
Various Shortcomings
Many past stars identify a multi-faceted challenge, not only a few causes.
Experts and participants have identified multiple deficiencies after India's disappointing performance to the Proteas: underrating the rivals, poor preparation, flawed selections, excessive self-belief, constant chopping and changing of the team lineup, and favoring limited-overs over red-ball cricket.
This was evident in the performances of the team.
Players like Rishabh Pant and Jaiswal, of whom so much was expected, were punished for their carelessness, while Sai Sudarshan, Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were looking to cement their spot in the side - were found wanting in technique and temperament, facing the fallout for their nonchalant approach.
A small number - Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar - did justice to their ability and standing - but not sufficiently to win matches.
Management Questions
The post-mortem targeted the entire setup - selectors and support staff were also questioned, spurred on by upset followers and outspoken ex-cricketers. Under focus of the scrutiny was team coach Gambhir.
During his post-series press
