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The Indian cricket team's surprising 0-2 defeat to South Africa in the just finished Test series has left the team reeling.

Earlier this week, the visiting team inflicted upon India their heaviest Test defeat by runs, contrary to predictions. This represented South Africa's maiden series victory in India in a quarter-century and the host nation's second home series loss in just one year after a 12-year invincible streak.

The momentum gained during the past six months has almost disappeared and the futures of a number of cricketers - as well as head mentor the coach - are now uncertain.

Early Optimism Vanishes

The emerging side's strong showing in England this season, under a fresh leadership, pointed to a smooth transition post the almost concurrent retirements of stalwarts Ashwin, Sharma, and Kohli.

A straightforward 2-0 win over the Windies at the start of the home season boosted that belief, before the Proteas came and inflicted a devastating defeat.

India were a tad unfortunate that captain Shubman Gill got injured quickly in the first Test and took no further part in the contest. But that neither explains nor absolves the side of the highly disappointing display in each match against South Africa.

Some big reputations took a hit, and several players hoping for long red-ball careers were exposed as not yet good enough - in skill or mindset - for the Test cricket.

Concerning History

This represented the second whitewash on home soil suffered by the Indian team in just more than a year. Last year, unfancied New Zealand had secured a staggering 3-0 victory which essentially denied India a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.

The fresh failure to South Africa could damage the team's hopes of qualifying for the decider of this cycle too.

Previously ranked third in the WTC rankings ahead of the matches, India have fallen to fifth place. Although nine more Tests are yet to be played, five of these are against the Aussies. Ordinarily, performing in familiar conditions would be a major plus - including against the powerful Australians. However the failures against the Kiwis and the Proteas provide no basis for that confidence.

Roots of the Decline

India's weakness in Test cricket has been clearly revealed. However, the reason the team have performed so poorly in Test matches at home in recent times is still bewildering.

In the 21st century, the Indian cricket team were considered impregnable in red-ball cricket at home. In demanding climates and on pitches that helped spin and suited their batsmen and bowlers, the hosts brooked no opposition. A rare failure, such as in the 2012-13 season against the English, was viewed as an aberration.

Currently, the team look to be beatable on home turf.

Versus New Zealand in last year and South Africa currently, India were hoisted by their own petard. The surfaces they curated to help their style went wrong completely, as rivals exploited them better, beating India's batsmen and bowlers when it mattered most.

The Core Issue

A few experts argue that the Indian team is floundering in home conditions because local wickets have been changed from spinning tracks to pace-friendly pitches to get cricketers ready to succeed overseas.

Others highlight that the domestic T20 league, in which many overseas players take part, has removed the mystery and hardship Indian conditions would challenge them with earlier.

While there is some truth in each argument, it still does not explain the reason the side's results on home soil have experienced such a dramatic drop.

Several Weaknesses

The majority of ex-cricketers point to a complicated issue, not only one or two factors.

Analysts and squad members have identified multiple deficiencies post the team's disappointing performance to the Proteas: underrating the rivals, poor preparation, flawed selections, arrogance, frequent changes of the playing XI, and favoring limited-overs over the longer format.

This was evident in the displays of the squad.

Players such as Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom high hopes were held, were punished for their nonchalance, while Sai Sudarshan, Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were hoping to secure their spot in the side - came up short in technique and temperament, paying a heavy price for their nonchalant approach.

A small number - Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep, Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar - lived up to their ability and standing - but not well enough to claim wins.

Leadership Under Fire

The post-mortem didn't spare not only the cricketers - team selectors and coaching staff were also questioned, spurred on by distraught fans and critical former players. At the centre of the examination was mentor Gambhir.

During his post-series press