India's unexpected 0-2 series loss to South Africa in the recent red-ball series has plunged the side into crisis.
Earlier this week, South Africa gave India a record defeat in terms of runs, defying expectations. This represented the Proteas' initial series triumph in the subcontinent in two and a half decades and India's second home series loss in just 12 months after a 12-year unbeaten run.
The winning rhythm gained during the past six months has almost disappeared and the futures of a number of cricketers - along with head coach Gautam Gambhir - are under scrutiny.
A Promising Start Disappears
The new-look squad's commendable display in the UK this summer, under a fresh leadership, suggested a seamless changeover following the almost concurrent departures of stalwarts Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Kohli.
A straightforward 2-0 win over West Indies at the start of the home campaign strengthened that view, till the South Africans came and inflicted a fell blow.
India were a bit unlucky that captain Shubman Gill suffered an injury early on in the initial match and was ruled out in the contest. However, that neither explains nor absolves the team of the well below standard performance in the two games against South Africa.
Several established players were damaged, and a few members eyeing extended tenures in Tests were revealed to be not up to the mark - in skill or mindset - for the longer format.
Worrying Trend
This represented the second whitewash in home conditions suffered by India in just more than a year. Last year, little-fancied the Kiwis had achieved a staggering 3-0 victory which effectively cost India a place in the WTC final.
The recent defeat to South Africa risks harming the team's chances of reaching the decider of this season as well.
After being third in the Test championship standings ahead of the matches, India have been relegated to the fifth spot. Even though nine further games are yet to be played, a majority are against Australia. Typically, performing in familiar conditions would be a major plus - including against the powerful Australians. However the disasters against New Zealand and South Africa provide no basis for that confidence.
Roots of the Decline
The national team's weakness in Test cricket has been badly exposed. Nevertheless, why the team have performed so poorly in Test matches at home lately is still bewildering.
From the year 2000 onwards, India were regarded as unbeatable in red-ball cricket at home. Under sweltering weather and on tracks that assisted spinners and suited their batsmen and bowlers, the hosts faced little challenge. A rare failure, like in 2012-13 against the English, was seen as an aberration.
Now, India seem vulnerable on home turf.
Against New Zealand in last year and South Africa currently, the home side were defeated by their own tactics. The pitches they developed to help their style went wrong completely, as the opposition exploited them better, outplaying India's batsmen and bowlers when it counted the most.
What Happened?
A few experts argue that the Indian team is failing in home conditions because domestic pitches have been changed from turners to quick wickets to train the squad to succeed overseas.
Others highlight that the domestic T20 league, in which many overseas players participate, has removed the mystery and hardship Indian conditions would challenge them with earlier.
Although there is a degree of accuracy in both analyses, it still does not explain why the side's results on home soil have experienced such a dramatic drop.
Multiple Failings
Many past stars identify a complex, multi-headed problem, not just a few causes.
Critics and players have identified multiple deficiencies following the team's embarrassing defeat to the Proteas: underrating the rivals, inadequate readiness, flawed selections, arrogance, frequent changes of the starting eleven, and emphasizing limited-overs over red-ball cricket.
This was evident in the performances of the side.
Players such as Pant and Jaiswal, of whom high hopes were held, suffered for their nonchalance, while Sai Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Jurel - who were aiming to establish their spot in the side - were found wanting in skill and mindset, suffering the consequences for their nonchalant approach.
Just a few - Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep, Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar - fulfilled their talent and reputation - but not sufficiently to win matches.
Leadership Under Fire
The post-mortem targeted not only the cricketers - selectors and coaching staff were also questioned, fuelled by upset followers and critical former players. In the spotlight of the examination was mentor Gautam Gambhir.
During his post-series press
