The tourists crashed to a 106-run defeat in the third one-dayer, their second straight loss after the opening match was washed out, for their 10th defeat in the last 13 completed one-day internationals.
"Same old story," said the headline caption on the front page of the Indian Express on Monday with a photograph of South African centurion Justin Kemp.
"On the bouncy pitches of South Africa and Australia, Laxman should have been an automatic choice, be it Tests or one-dayers," former Test batsman and national coach Aunshuman Gaekwad told Reuters.
"India needs the experience of Laxman, especially in the absence of an injured Yuvraj Singh," he added.
Test batsman Laxman was overlooked for the one-dayers, despite the side's poor batting displays this season.
The 32-year-old, whose last one-day appearance came in a tri-series in Sri Lanka in August 2005, is still nurturing hopes of playing in the World Cup after surprisingly being dropped for the previous edition.
"Playing Dinesh Karthik at No. 5 was a joke," Gaekwad said, referring to the team's decision to play the young wicketkeeper-batsman in the role of a pure middle-order
"When seniors are finding it difficult to cope with the conditions and last full 50 overs, what would a junior do," he asked.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar also questioned the logic behind playing Karthick at number five.
"It was good to see (Rahul) Dravid come at number three, but surely Dinesh Karthik is not a number five batsman," he wrote in his syndicated column.
India coach Greg Chappell has been under intense pressure ever since his experimentation with the batting order backfired this season.
India lost a one-day series 4-1 in the West Indies in May, failed to reach the final of a tri-nations series in Malaysia in September, and as hosts were knocked out in the round-robin phase of the Champions Trophy last month.
Critics have questioned the logic of a difficult tour of South Africa just five months ahead of the World Cup in the Caribbean, considering the team's poor record in that nation and the impact it would have on the team's morale.
India have not won a Test match in three previous trips to South Africa and have won just three one-dayers against 14 defeats.