"The evidence of this week shows that the off-field stuff does have an effect on the team," Smith said. "There are a few things we need to work through, they can't be left undealt with. We need to find a way to deal with these issues so we can concentrate on the cricket."

South Africa's build-up to the tour has been marred by a selection controversy, with mixed race pace bowler Charl Langeveldt withdrawing from the squad on Tuesday, saying he did not want to be picked on the basis of his colour.

The squad to tour Bangladesh last month was named just two days before their departure due to another controversy over selection and race.

Coach Mickey Arthur dismissed suggestions South Africa would be under-prepared for the first Test against India, which starts in Chennai on Wednesday, after cancelling a scheduled warm-up game against India ‘A’.

"There've been a lot of noises about not playing a warm-up match, but we've been in the sub-continent a huge amount lately and the guys are so sound in terms of the different techniques required," Arthur said.

"Coming home has allowed the team to be refreshed and re-energised and we thought it was the best way to refocus on getting back into the swing of things. We know it will be hard work, but it's a mental shift more than anything else.  "Warm-up games tend to be good for the first day and a half, and then the intensity wanes. We believe we can replicate a warm-up game quite easily with some intensive centre practices."

Meanwhile, chief executive Gerald Majola has said Cricket South Africa's transformation policy was not meant to lead to the unreasonable selection of players of colour in the national team. "Our transformation policy has not changed. It's about targets, we aspire to reach certain targets. But we also believe we need to be reasonable and look at what we have," Majola said.

"We understand that there are specialist positions in cricket and if we need four or five black players and they are mostly bowlers, then we will have issues of balance within the team. That is why it is a target," he added. Majola said he was alarmed that cricket had been embroiled in so much controversy recently. "I think all this drama is a concern to all cricket lovers, cricket is making headlines for reasons other than the magnificent performance of the team.”