Marnus is in the grips of a cricket curse that once felled Sachin. It may already be too late

Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne is facing mounting scrutiny following two poor dismissals in Gqeberha during Australia's tour of South Africa. Greg Chappell compared Labuschagne's slump to Sachin Tendulkar's past struggles, diagnosing the Queenslander with "elite performance decline syndrome." Labuschagne has now failed to score a Test century in 47 innings, averaging just 25 during that span, putting his spot in the national team under severe pressure.

Australian head coach Andrew McDonald acknowledged his disappointment with Labuschagne repeatedly getting dismissed after reaching starts of 30 or more. Meanwhile, former players Merv Hughes, Usman Khawaja, and Kerry O’Keeffe pointed out technical deficiencies and an overthinking approach, warning that international bowlers have figured out his tendencies outside the off-stump.