Amid discussions about Shreyas Iyer's form and KL Rahul's impressive performances, India's batting coach, Vikram Rathour, has made it clear that Iyer's position at number four in the batting lineup is not in jeopardy.
Iyer recently returned to the team after recovering from a back injury and faced a three-ball duck in India's opening World Cup match against Australia. India found themselves in a difficult position during that match, with both openers, Ishan Kishan and captain Rohit Sharma, falling early in the innings.
Former Indian cricket star Yuvraj Singh expressed his disappointment with Iyer's dismissal, emphasising that the number four batsman should be able to handle pressure situations and make better decisions during the team's rebuilding phase.
However, despite KL Rahul's remarkable performance at number five in the same match, Rathour stated that there are no immediate plans to promote Rahul ahead of Iyer. He pointed out that both players have been performing well in their respective roles, and there is no temptation to make changes at this point.
With regular opener Shubman Gill unavailable due to illness, Ishan Kishan is expected to continue opening the innings for India. Rathour expressed confidence in Kishan's ability to adapt to his new role, noting that Kishan has experience batting both at the top and in the middle order.
"He has played as an opener. He understands the moment; that was the reason he has been on the team," Rathour explained. "We knew that he could bat at the top of the order or in the middle order. He has done that before. So, no specific discussion on that. Just hoping that he comes good tomorrow."
