India, Nov. 19 -- It used to be ridiculously simple really: Make it count while batting, preferably once, before leaving it to the bowlers to wrap up the game. That's how India had a 22-1 win loss record between 2015 and 2019. Something however has changed so dramatically since the pandemic that India's record since 2020 now reads a baffling 16-7.

Putting a finger on the drastically reduced batting averages is the first instinct, but it's also the domino effect of too many decisions going wrong. Never before have India looked so out of place at home.

An impulsive conclusion would be to frame this slide as a knee-jerk response to the transition that kicked in with the phasing out of Cheteshwar Pujara after the 2023 World Test Championshi...