Did South Africa miss Dale Steyn?

Du Plessis said they have to find the right people to build the side

Humiliated by a ruthless India, the South African team will go back with 'mental scars' as skipper Faf du Plessis rued a lack of vision that impeded phasing out of their great players.

South Africa could not pose a fight against formidable India, losing all the matches by heavy margins.

"A tour like this reveals that there's a lot of mental scars that can happen and then obviously it's difficult to come out of that hole," Du Plessis said after they conceded their heaviest defeat to India in the third Test.

"It's just a relentless, ruthlessness the way they put big totals on the board every time. The effect it has on you mentally as a batting lineup, it takes a lot of energy and it takes a lot of toll and that's why you could see towards the end our batting was mentally weak. You don't want to be mentally weak."

Blaming Cricket South Africa, the visiting skipper further said the tour exposed the lack of planning as they did not think for future after greats like Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers retired.

He further said they badly missed Dale Steyn.

Du Plessis said it was a really a tough challenge for him to see through a smooth transition as the team lacks experience.

"We've had a very mature Test team for a while. All guys who played 30-40 Test matches, and now you look in the dressing room and it's 5, 6, 7, 8 or 10 Test matches."

Asked about the way forward, Du Plessis said they have to find the right people to build the side.

"It's a rebuilding phase. You have to start identifying characters that will drive the team forward. You look for personalities within a team that you see in 3-4-5-6 years to come. And then the process starts. It's a tough place to start right at the beginning.

"The process will probably take a little bit longer. So for me, our next journey now is trying to make sure that we get a lot stronger as a cricketing team mentally. So if there's work that needs to be done in that department, then so be it."

Du Plessis said they have to find the right people to build the side.