Invincible Not Anymore: The Reasons The Indian Red-Ball Cricket Reputation Is in Tatters

The Indian cricket team's shocking 0-2 loss to South Africa in the recently concluded Test series has left the team reeling.

Earlier this week, South Africa gave India their heaviest defeat in terms of runs, against all odds. It marked South Africa's maiden series victory in the subcontinent in a quarter-century and the host nation's second defeat at home in just 12 months after a decade-plus without a home loss.

The momentum established in the past six months has all but vanished and the careers of multiple squad members - along with head mentor Gautam Gambhir - are under scrutiny.

Early Optimism Disappears

The emerging side's strong showing in the UK this season, under a fresh leadership, pointed to a smooth transition following the close together departures of stalwarts Ashwin, Sharma, and Virat Kohli.

A facile 2-0 win over the Windies at the start of the home season boosted that belief, till the Proteas turned up and handed out a devastating defeat.

India were a tad unfortunate that skipper Shubman Gill was injured quickly in the opening Test and did not participate again in the contest. Yet that does not excuse or justify the team of the highly disappointing performance in each match against South Africa.

A number of star cricketers were damaged, and multiple individuals hoping for long red-ball careers were revealed to be not up to the mark - technically or mentally - for the format.

A Troubling Pattern

It was the second clean sweep in home conditions experienced by the Indian team in just more than a year. In 2024, unfancied New Zealand had pulled off a surprising 3-0 victory which effectively cost India a berth in the Test championship finale.

The latest loss to the Proteas could damage the team's chances of reaching the decider of this cycle too.

After being third in the WTC rankings 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. Usually, performing in familiar conditions would be a major plus - even when facing the strong Australian side. Yet the disasters against New Zealand and South Africa provide no basis for such comfort.

Roots of the Decline

The national team's weakness in red-ball cricket has been clearly revealed. That said, the reason the team have performed so poorly in Tests on home soil in recent times is remains puzzling.

Since the turn of the century, the Indian cricket team were seen as unbeatable in Test cricket in home conditions. In hot, humid conditions and on surfaces that helped spin and aided their squad, the hosts faced little challenge. The occasional loss, like in 2012-13 against the English, was seen as an aberration.

Now, the team seem easy pickings in their own backyard.

Versus the Kiwis in last year and South Africa currently, India were beaten at their own game. The tracks they curated to favor their game went wrong completely, as rivals used them more effectively, surpassing India's batsmen and bowlers when it counted the most.

What Happened?

Some suggest that the Indian team is floundering in home conditions because domestic pitches have been altered from spinning tracks to pace-friendly pitches to train the squad to do well overseas.

A few mention that the domestic T20 league, in which several international stars participate, has taken away the surprise and difficulty Indian conditions would present to them earlier.

Even though there is a degree of accuracy in each argument, it still does not explain why the team's showings at home have seen such a dramatic drop.

Several Weaknesses

Many past stars point to a complicated issue, not just a couple of reasons.

Analysts and squad members have pointed to several failings following India's disappointing performance to the Proteas: not respecting the foe, lack of preparation, flawed selections, excessive self-belief, frequent changes of the team lineup, and favoring white-ball over the longer format.

This was evident in the performances of the side.

Members like Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom so much was expected, were punished for their carelessness, while Sudarshan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were looking to cement their place in the team - fell short in ability and attitude, facing the fallout for their casual attitude.

Only a handful - Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar - fulfilled their talent and reputation - but not sufficiently to claim wins.

Leadership Under Fire

The post-mortem also included the entire setup - selectors and coaching staff were also criticized, driven by distraught fans and critical former players. At the centre of the criticism was team coach Gautam Gambhir.

In his post-series press