Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav admitted that "batter Surya" has gone missing and needed to make a strong comeback with the T20 World Cup round the corner.
Surya, who has been completely out of form for the past 14 months, tallied only 34 runs in four innings during the South Africa series.
India won the five-match T20I series against South Africa 3-1 in Ahmedabad on Friday.
They take on New Zealand in a T20I series before the ICC T20 World Cup commences on February 7. India meet USA in the tournament opener at Mumbai’s iconic Wankhede Stadium.
"Good challenging series. We did what we could. Only thing is we couldn't find Surya the batter, I think he's missing somewhere. But he'll come back strong. As a leader, very pleased with how the series went," Surya said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
While he is unlikely to remain captain after the T20 World Cup, the 35-year-old looked a touch worried despite another bilateral T20 series win -- this time by 3-1 margin against South Africa.
"The brand of cricket we wanted to play was the same, result is in front of us."
We didn't try to do anything different. We wanted to express ourselves in all departments, and the results are right there in front of everyone. This is something we felt was missing in our last few series. This is exactly how we wanted to bat. Once someone gets going, they don't stop. We wanted that relentless intent, and today it worked beautifully," Suryakumar added.
In Asia Cup, he had used Jasprit Bumrah's three overs in the Powerplay and here he kept his three overs for the back-10.
"We wanted to try something different. The plan was to use Bumrah in one over in the powerplay, control the middle phase after drinks and then have him ready for the death overs. Washi stepped up brilliantly today and took responsibility. We were under pressure at times, we were challenged, but this game is about how you respond and the boys did really well," he added.
Player of the Match Hardik Pandya, who smashed a 16-ball half-century couldn't be happier having won a decisive game for his country.
"I do not play cricket to win Player of The Match. I play cricket to win games. It is a good feeling to contribute to the win.
"It is good to know that. I told my teammates and partner that I am going to step out the first ball and whack it for a six. Today was the day and had to make the most of the opportunity. It feels good when it comes through. It is quite a satisfying day," he added.