After Kohli stepped away, Shubman Gill moved into the No. 4 role as the newly appointed captain, creating a vacancy at one down. Since then, India have been searching for a stable option at No. 3. Karun Nair, Sai Sudharsan, and even Washington Sundar were tried during the first Test against South Africa, but the spot still lacks a definitive solution.

With Sudharsan returning to the XI in Guwahati, India dropped down Sundar to number 8, where he played another crucial knock of 48 runs, but India were bundled out for just 201, with the top and middle order crumbling under pressure.

Kumble weighed in on Washington Sundar’s batting position after his gritty knock in India’s first innings, praising the all-rounder’s courage under pressure. The spin great felt Sundar’s ideal role lies lower in the order, where he can maximise impact, and credited his partnership with Kuldeep Yadav for delaying a possible follow-on.

“I know, he (Sundar) sort of was pushed the top of the order, the last game, but I think his position, for me at least, is correct in terms of number seven, number eight, is where I think he should be batting, because this is where he can hurt the opposition. And the top order needs to settle down. But I thought he showed a lot of courage to just be there, hang around, and put together a really good partnership with Kuldeep Yadav. Otherwise, this, I’m sure, then Temba Bavuma wouldn’t have had to go back to check whether he needed to, again, enforce follow-on. I am sure that if Kuldeep had got out early, I think India would have been batting here in the second innings. So yeah, it’s a bit disappointing,” Kumble said on JioHotstar after Day 3’s play.

“India did miss Shubman, the captain, but more importantly, missed him as a batter”

Kumble highlighted the instability in India’s Test batting order, pointing out how the top five have undergone major changes in recent years. With stalwarts like Kohli, Rohit, and Cheteshwar Pujara retired, Ajinkya Rahane no longer in the mix, and Shubman Gill missing from the XI, Kumble emphasised the importance of establishing stability in the batting order and providing sustained support to the selected players.

“The other aspect of also, you know, I want to bring this point about India’s batting. Over the last three or four years, you’ve seen four batters in the top five either retired or not be picked. You know, if it is, you know, Virat Kohli is retired, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, then you have, of course… Rahane. So four out of five, plus Shubman Gill is not in this lineup. Yes, India did miss Shubman, the captain, but also, more importantly, missed him as a batter. So when you don’t have that, you need to have a settled, sort of, lineup going through. They need to give them opportunities,” he added.

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Kumble, who has also coached the Indian team in the past, asserted that constant shuffling in the batting order can also be unsettling for the players.

“Yes, they will come good, they will be off days. It’s just a matter of supporting them for a period of six, seven, or eight Test matches. But if you look back at the last, what, 10-12 Test matches, the batting orders in the top has been up and down. There’ve been a lot of changes there, so that’s, I’m sure, a bit unsettling for the players too. So looking at all of that, and the effort here, you know, you feel disappointed. You expected the effort to be better. Yeah, valid points that, uh, in terms of just the batting order, shuffling around a bit, uh, could be quite disturbing for some of these batters,” he said.