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India's unexpected 0-2 loss to the Proteas in the recently concluded Test series has sent shockwaves through the squad.

Just days ago, South Africa inflicted upon India a record Test defeat by runs, contrary to predictions. It was South Africa's maiden series victory in the subcontinent in a quarter-century and the host nation's another home failure in just one year after a decade-plus without a home loss.

The winning rhythm established in the previous half-year has almost disappeared and the careers of multiple squad members - as well as team coach the coach - now hang in the balance.

Initial Hope Disappears

The emerging side's commendable display in England this summer, under a different skipper, suggested a seamless changeover post the near-simultaneous departures of veterans R Ashwin, Sharma, and Kohli.

A straightforward 2-0 win over the Windies at the beginning of the home season strengthened that view, till the South Africans turned up and handed out a fell blow.

The home side were a tad unfortunate that skipper Gill got injured quickly in the opening Test and did not participate again in the contest. However, that neither explains nor absolves the squad of the highly disappointing performance in both Tests against South Africa.

Some big reputations suffered, and several players hoping for long red-ball careers were shown as still inadequate - in ability or temperament - for the format.

A Troubling Pattern

This represented the second whitewash on home soil experienced by the Indian team in just over a year. Last year, little-fancied New Zealand had pulled off a surprising 3-0 victory which essentially denied the hosts a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.

The fresh failure to South Africa could damage India's chances of making the showpiece of this season also.

After being third in the WTC table ahead of the matches, the side have dropped to fifth place. Though nine more Tests are remaining, a majority are against the Aussies. Ordinarily, performing in familiar conditions would be a significant benefit - including against the powerful Australians. But the disasters against New Zealand and South Africa offer no room for such comfort.

Reasons for the Slump

India's vulnerability in the longer format has been badly exposed. Nevertheless, why the team have struggled so much in Tests at home lately is continues to confuse.

Since the turn of the century, the Indian cricket team were seen as invincible in red-ball cricket at home. Under sweltering weather and on pitches that assisted spinners and suited their batsmen and bowlers, India brooked no opposition. A rare failure, like in the 2012-13 season against the English, was viewed as an exception.

Now, the team appear to be easy pickings at home.

Versus the Kiwis in 2024 and South Africa this year, India were hoisted by their own petard. The tracks they curated to favor their game went wrong completely, as the opposition capitalized on them more skillfully, surpassing India's batsmen and bowlers when it counted the most.

The Core Issue

Some suggest that India is failing at home because domestic pitches have been modified from turners to fast tracks to train the squad to do well overseas.

A few mention that the IPL, in which many overseas players play, has taken away the surprise and difficulty home wickets would present to them earlier.

Even though there is some truth in both analyses, it fails to account for why the team's showings at home have seen such a sharp fall.

Several Weaknesses

Many past stars point to a multi-faceted challenge, not limited to a couple of reasons.

Experts and participants have highlighted multiple deficiencies post the team's humiliating loss to the Proteas: not respecting the foe, inadequate readiness, questionable picks, arrogance, constant chopping and changing of the starting eleven, and favoring limited-overs over Test cricket.

This was obvious in the displays of the side.

Players such as Rishabh Pant and Jaiswal, of whom great things were anticipated, suffered for their nonchalance, while Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Jurel - who were aiming to establish their spot in the side - were found wanting in ability and attitude, suffering the consequences for their nonchalant approach.

Only a handful - Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Sundar - lived up to their skill and fame - but not sufficiently to claim wins.

Leadership Under Fire

The post-mortem didn't spare not only the cricketers - selectors and support staff were also under fire, spurred on by disappointed supporters and outspoken ex-cricketers. Under focus of the examination was team coach Gambhir.

During his post-series press