Anil Kumble, ace spinner and former India captain, raised questions on the Indian team’s lack of aggressive planning in the ongoing second Test against South Africa in Guwahati. The match got underway on November 22 and saw South Africa winning the toss and batting first.

Kuldeep Yadav took three wickets as South Africa ended day one on 246/7 with Senuran Muthuswamy holding one end up.

Speaking during the series' first wicketless session, Kumble criticized the management of the Indian side and blamed stand-in captain Rishabh Pant for not being aggressive enough with his field placements in the morning session on Day 2.

During the first session, while Muthusamy and Verreynne were still getting used to the day's action, Kumble claimed that India lacked close-in fielders. Before turning to their spinners, India started with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, but neither of them could produce the breakthrough.

"I thought they could have been a little more aggressive at the start — a bit more attacking. We finally saw some of that in the last over before tea, when they brought in a short leg, a silly point, and packed the fielders around. I know the pitch isn’t responding to the spinners the way other surfaces have, but still, you have to make things happen and try different options," Kumble said on Star Sports.

"Credit to the South African batters, though. Both Muthusamy and Kyle Verreynne have batted exceptionally well. They’ve used their feet nicely — and by that I don’t just mean stepping out; using the depth of the crease as well," he added.

Kumble added that South Africa will be happy to play for the time given that they have 1-0 lead in the two-Test series.

Kumble also wondered whether India were struggling to adapt to a pitch offering little assistance, having played so much Test cricket in recent years on spinner-friendly surfaces.

"That’s partly because the Indian bowlers and this field strategy have allowed him to settle. On a pitch where nothing much is happening, you have to make things happen. You need to force the batter into a shot — that’s how you create wicket-taking chances. We saw that with Bavuma, with Wiaan Mulder, even with Stubbs early on, when he was trying to hit the ball. You want batters playing shots, and that only happens when you bring the fielders up," he said.

"If you’re going to have long-off, long-on, and deep cover from the start, it becomes comfortable for the batter. India may simply be unused to situations where wickets aren’t falling regularly; they’re accustomed to pitches where spinners naturally dominate. On those surfaces, you don’t worry much about field placement — just keep men around the bat and wait. But on this wicket, they have to create pressure,” Kumble added.

Senuran Muthiswamy scored his maiden century at the time of writing this article, as South Africa was on 422/7.