Rahul Dravid's lingering obsession with the wicket triggered a lot of "outside noise" during his reign as head coach.

His regular and repeated pitch inspections before and during the match had been the cause for much debate with curators often suggesting that Dravid was more interested on the wicket than addressing certain issues which needed immediate attention in the dressing room.

Dravid and his support staff, however, kept their detractors at bay with a scintillating performance both at home and away. The end of Dravid's tenure meant Gautam Gambhir had big boots to fill with India at the top of the rankings in two of the three formats of the game.

Like Dravid, the BCCI gave Gambhir a free hand in choosing his support staff. The choice of Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate did raise a few eyebrows since it was evident Gambhir had gone by his IPL work experience.

A deserving candidate like WV Raman, who had worked at the National Cricket Academy and as head coach of the women's national team, was overlooked, his creative presentation before the Cricket Advisory Committee notwithstanding.

But the honeymoon period seems to be over for the support staff with the BCCI brass now contemplating action and accountability taking precedence. During his short tenure, Gambhir has lost an ODI series in Sri Lanka, a home Test series with a 0-3 whitewash which ended a 12-year winning streak and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a decade. The team has effectively lost six of their last eight Test matches.

The latest debacle Down Under has stirred a hornet's nest. The role of the batting coach has come under scrutiny with none specifically assigned such a position. The repeated failures of the Indian top-order, especially Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, since Gambhir took over has caused a lot of distress.

While Gambhir was expected to help the batters out because of his experience, Nayar has been more at the forefront with his throwdowns and active participation in the nets.

The similarity of Kohli's repeated dismissals — poking in the corridor in eight out of his nine innings in Australia — has been alarming with Sunil Gavaskar even pointing out some technical flaws in his batting.

"He's so front-footed that when the ball bounces, he's unable to adjust, which leads to him hanging his bat outside the line and getting out. This flaw has become embedded in his technique, and on pitches with significant bounce, he will continue to struggle," said Gavaskar during commentary.

However, none of the support staff members have been able to discuss and sort out such frailties in his technique. Gavaskar's latest jibe came after losing the series in Sydney.

Abhishek Nayar, Gautam Gambhir

"Aapke coaching staff kya kar rahe the? Batting main koi dum nahi tha. (What was your coaching staff doing in Australia? There was no punch in the batting)," Gavaskar was livid.

"Questions should be asked (from batting coach) what have you guys done? Why can’t we see any improvement?"

It was not just about the batting. The bowling too lacked discipline with the pacers often failing to strike the right length. Morne Morkel can't escape examination since India has failed to develop the next line of pacers after Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. Siraj's declining strike-rate is a matter of huge concern with the Indians suffering right through the series.

Former bowling coach Bharat Arun had revealed how he and head coach Ravi Shastri had effectively strangled Australia with a leg-side trap to secure a 2-1 series win in 2020-21. The planning and strategising had effectively begun some five months before the tour got underway.

Was any such plans devised this time? How was Travis Head allowed to score freely despite his known weakness against short pitched stuff? Why did Bumrah have to say "bas ab... nahi lag raha hai zor (have to stop it... don't have the energy to continue)"?

Mohammed Shami was never certain for the tour and yet an inexperienced Harshit Rana was persisted with for two Tests when it was evident he didn't have the zeal to bowl long spells. Then the fourth seamer effectively posed no threat or control allowing the Aussies to score freely.

Playing Rana in Adelaide was a big mistake since Akash Deep's skiddy pace could have been more useful with the pink ball. Similarly fielding Washington Sundar almost as a batter on a grassy surface in Sydney was poor judgement.

Such facts will continue to haunt the BCCI and it won't be surprising if corrective measures are put in place for the desired results. Being a successful mentor for an IPL franchise and managing stars in the Indian changing room was never going to be the same and the BCCI seems to have learnt their lessons the hard way.

The SGM of the BCCI on January 12 could provide an insight into such issues. With Jay Shah no more at the helm, the BCCI faces introspection much like the team's seniors and the support staff.