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The Indian cricket team's unexpected 0-2 loss to the Proteas in the recently concluded Test series has plunged the side into crisis.

Earlier this week, South Africa handed India a record Test defeat by runs, defying expectations. It marked the Proteas' maiden series victory in India in a quarter-century and the host nation's another home failure in just 12 months after a decade-plus without a home loss.

The momentum built over the last several months has largely dissipated and the futures of multiple squad members - along with team coach the coach - are under scrutiny.

Initial Hope Disappears

The young team's commendable display in the UK this summer, under a different skipper, indicated a seamless changeover following the near-simultaneous departures of stalwarts Ashwin, Sharma, and Kohli.

A straightforward 2-0 victory over West Indies at the beginning of the home season strengthened that view, until the Proteas turned up and handed out a crushing loss.

The home side were a tad unfortunate that captain Shubman Gill was injured quickly in the first Test and was ruled out in the contest. But that fails to account for the squad of the terribly sub-par showing in the two games against South Africa.

A number of star cricketers suffered, and a few members eyeing extended tenures in Tests were revealed to be not yet good enough - in ability or temperament - for the Test cricket.

A Troubling Pattern

It was the second clean sweep in home conditions suffered by the Indian team in just more than a year. In 2024, little-fancied the Kiwis had secured a staggering 3-0 victory which essentially denied India a spot in the Test championship finale.

The fresh failure to South Africa risks harming India's hopes of reaching the decider of this edition as well.

Previously ranked third in the WTC table prior to the contest, the side have fallen to fifth place. Even though nine additional matches are yet to be played, half of these are against Australia. Ordinarily, performing in familiar conditions would be a huge advantage - even when facing the strong Australian side. However the debacles against the Kiwis and South Africa offer no room for such assurance.

Roots of the Decline

The national team's weakness in red-ball cricket has been clearly revealed. Nevertheless, the reason the team have performed so poorly in Test matches at home lately is remains puzzling.

Since the turn of the century, the Indian cricket team were considered impregnable in red-ball cricket in home conditions. In hot, humid conditions and on pitches that favored spin bowling and benefited their players, India faced little challenge. The occasional loss, like in 2012-13 against England, was seen as an exception.

Today, the team appear to be vulnerable in their own backyard.

Facing New Zealand in 2024 and South Africa currently, India were defeated by their own tactics. The tracks they developed to help their style backfired spectacularly, as the opposition used them more effectively, beating the Indian batters and bowlers when it counted the most.

What Happened?

Certain analysts propose that the Indian team is struggling in home conditions because domestic pitches have been modified from spinning tracks to quick wickets to get cricketers ready to succeed overseas.

A few mention that the Indian Premier League (IPL), in which many overseas players participate, has removed the mystery and hardship home wickets would pose to them earlier.

Although there is some truth in both analyses, it fails to account for why the side's results at home have seen such a sharp fall.

Multiple Failings

Most former players identify a complicated issue, not just one or two factors.

Analysts and squad members have identified various flaws following the team's humiliating loss to the Proteas: underestimating the opposition, poor preparation, flawed selections, excessive self-belief, constant chopping and changing of the playing XI, and favoring white-ball over Test cricket.

This was obvious in the displays of the squad.

Members such as Pant and Jaiswal, of whom great things were anticipated, were punished for their lack of application, while Sai Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were hoping to secure their position in the squad - fell short in technique and temperament, paying a heavy price for their casual attitude.

A small number - Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep, Siraj and Sundar - did justice to their ability and standing - but not well enough to claim wins.

Coaching Scrutiny

The post-mortem targeted just the players - the selection panel and support staff were also criticized, spurred on by upset followers and critical former players. Under focus of the criticism was mentor Gambhir.

At his post-series press