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The Indian cricket team's shocking 0-2 loss to the Proteas in the recently concluded red-ball series has sent shockwaves through the squad.

In the final match, the visiting team inflicted upon India their heaviest defeat in terms of runs, against all odds. It marked the Proteas' initial series triumph in India in a quarter-century and India's second home series loss in just one year after a 12-year invincible streak.

The positive trajectory gained during the previous half-year has largely dissipated and the futures of a number of cricketers - as well as team coach the coach - are under scrutiny.

Initial Hope Vanishes

The young team's strong showing in England this season, under a new captain, suggested a successful handover post the almost concurrent exits of key players R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Kohli.

A straightforward 2-0 victory over the Windies at the start of the home season enhanced that perception, till the South Africans arrived to deliver a crushing loss.

The home side were somewhat unlucky that captain Gill was injured very early in the initial match and was ruled out in the contest. Yet that fails to account for the side of the terribly sub-par performance in both Tests against South Africa.

Some big reputations took a hit, and multiple individuals eyeing long red-ball careers were exposed as not yet good enough - in ability or temperament - for the Test cricket.

A Troubling Pattern

This was the second whitewash on home soil suffered by India in just over a year. Last year, underestimated New Zealand had secured a surprising 3-0 victory which essentially denied India a place in the Test championship finale.

The fresh failure to South Africa threatens to derail the team's hopes of qualifying for the showpiece of this edition also.

After being third in the WTC table before the series, the side have dropped to number five. Even though nine further games are still to come, five of these are against Australia. Typically, performing in familiar conditions would be a significant benefit - even when facing the powerful Australians. But the disasters against New Zealand and South Africa offer no room for such assurance.

Reasons for the Slump

The national team's frailty in the longer format has been clearly revealed. Nevertheless, the reason India have performed so poorly in Tests on home soil lately is continues to confuse.

In the 21st century, the Indian cricket team were seen as unbeatable in Test cricket at home. Under sweltering weather and on pitches that assisted spinners and aided their squad, the hosts faced little challenge. A rare failure, like in 2012-13 against the English, was viewed as an exception.

Currently, India look to be beatable on home turf.

Against New Zealand in last year and South Africa this year, the home side were hoisted by their own petard. The surfaces they prepared to help their style went wrong completely, as opponents capitalized on them more skillfully, surpassing the Indian batters and bowlers when it counted the most.

What Happened?

A few experts argue that the Indian team is struggling in home conditions because domestic pitches have been changed from turners to fast tracks to prepare players to perform better in foreign conditions.

Some point out that the Indian Premier League (IPL), in which several international stars take part, has taken away the surprise and difficulty home wickets would pose to them before.

While there is validity in these views, it fails to account for the reason India's performances on home soil have seen such a staggering decline.

Various Shortcomings

The majority of ex-cricketers identify a multi-faceted challenge, not just one or two factors.

Analysts and squad members have identified multiple deficiencies post the team's embarrassing defeat to the Proteas: underestimating the opposition, inadequate readiness, poor choices, overconfidence, constant chopping and changing of the playing XI, and emphasizing limited-overs over the longer format.

This was evident in the showings of the side.

Players like Pant and Jaiswal, of whom high hopes were held, suffered for their lack of application, while Sudarshan, Reddy, and Jurel - who were looking to cement their spot in the side - fell short in technique and temperament, facing the fallout for their lackadaisical method.

Just a few - Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar - fulfilled their ability and standing - but not sufficiently to secure victories.

Leadership Under Fire

The analysis also included just the players - the selection panel and support staff were also questioned, spurred on by disappointed supporters and critical former players. In the spotlight of the scrutiny was head coach Gautam Gambhir.

At his post-series press