After beginning with a 2-0 sweep of Bangladesh at home, India endured a 3-0 whitewash against New Zealand, suffered a 1-3 series defeat in Australia, fought their way to a 2-2 draw in England, beat West Indies 2-0 at home and then lost 2-0 to South Africa. Somewhere in the middle of that period came the retirements of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and R Ashwin, forcing the side into its most significant red-ball reset in over a decade.
