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The Indian cricket team's surprising 0-2 defeat to South Africa in the just finished Test series has sent shockwaves through the squad.

In the final match, South Africa handed India a record loss in Test cricket, defying expectations. It marked South Africa's first series win in India in a quarter-century and India's another home failure in just a year after a decade-plus without a home loss.

The positive trajectory gained during the previous half-year has almost disappeared and the careers of a number of cricketers - along with team coach the coach - now hang in the balance.

A Promising Start Disappears

The young team's commendable display in England this season, under a fresh leadership, indicated a seamless changeover post the near-simultaneous exits of veterans R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli.

An easy 2-0 win over West Indies at the commencement of the home season boosted that belief, till the Proteas came and inflicted a crushing loss.

India were somewhat unlucky that captain Gill suffered an injury quickly in the first Test and was ruled out in the contest. However, that neither explains nor absolves the team of the highly disappointing display in each match against the opposition.

A number of star cricketers took a hit, and a few members aspiring to extended tenures in Tests were exposed as not up to the mark - in skill or mindset - for the Test cricket.

Worrying Trend

This was the second series sweep in home conditions experienced by India in just a year. Last year, underestimated the Kiwis had secured a staggering 3-0 triumph which practically cost India a spot in the Test championship finale.

The fresh failure to South Africa could damage India's hopes of qualifying for the final of this cycle also.

From number three in the WTC rankings ahead of the matches, the side have fallen to fifth place. Though nine more Tests are remaining, half of these are against the Aussies. Typically, performing in familiar conditions would be a major plus - even when facing the strong Australian side. Yet the failures against the Kiwis and South Africa offer no room for that confidence.

Causes of the Fall

India's vulnerability in Test cricket has been clearly revealed. However, the reason India have performed so poorly in Test matches at home in recent times is continues to confuse.

Since the turn of the century, India were regarded as unbeatable in Test cricket at home. In hot, humid conditions and on pitches that favored spin bowling and suited their batsmen and bowlers, India faced little challenge. A rare failure, like in the 2012-13 season against England, was considered an aberration.

Currently, India seem easy pickings in their own backyard.

Facing the Kiwis in 2024 and South Africa this year, India were defeated by their own tactics. The pitches they curated to favor their game went wrong completely, as rivals used them more effectively, beating India's batsmen and bowlers when it counted the most.

The Core Issue

A few experts argue that the Indian team is struggling at home because local wickets have been altered from spinning tracks to quick wickets to get cricketers ready to succeed overseas.

A few mention that the domestic T20 league, in which several international stars play, has taken away the unfamiliarity and challenge subcontinental pitches would present to them before.

Even though there is validity in both analyses, it fails to account for the reason India's performances at home have seen such a sharp fall.

Multiple Failings

The majority of ex-cricketers identify a multi-faceted challenge, not limited to a few causes.

Critics and players have identified several failings following the team's humiliating loss to the Proteas: underrating the rivals, poor preparation, questionable picks, excessive self-belief, constant chopping and changing of the team lineup, and favoring white-ball over Test cricket.

This was evident in the performances of the team.

Members such as Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom so much was expected, suffered for their lack of application, while Sai Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were aiming to establish their position in the squad - were found wanting in skill and mindset, facing the fallout for their casual attitude.

Only a handful - Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Sundar - fulfilled their talent and reputation - but not sufficiently to secure victories.

Leadership Under Fire

The post-mortem targeted just the players - team selectors and backroom team were also under fire, driven by disappointed supporters and critical former players. At the centre of the scrutiny was team coach Gambhir.

During his post-series press