On the eve of India’s second World Cup 2023 match against Afghanistan in Delhi, batting coach Vikram Rathour made it clear that Shreyas Iyer's batting position at No. 4 is secure and not threatened by his in-form teammate KL Rahul.

Shreyas, who made a comeback to the team last month after recovering from back surgery, endured a failure in India’s World Cup opener against Australia at Chepauk on Sunday (October 8).

Chasing 200 to win, the Men in Blue lost both the openers Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma for a duck. The home team badly needed its No. 4 batter to steady the ship at that stage but Iyer fell for a three-ball. He attempted a casual drive that was caught by David Warner at short cover.

Former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh was critical of Shreyas Iyer's dismissal as he tweeted: “No 4 batsman has to absorb the pressure !! Need better thinking from @ShreyasIyer15 when team is trying to rebuild their innings ! Still don’t understand why @klrahul is not batting at no 4 ! After scoring a 100 against Pakistan !”

Despite the scrutiny, Rathour backed Shreyas to produce good results at the crucial No. 4 slot.

"No, not at the moment, because he (Rahul) is doing so well at number five and Shreyas has done really well for us at number four. So absolutely no such temptations," Rathour said in the pre-match presser when asked if they were tempted to play Rahul ahead of Iyer.

With Shubman Gill yet to recover from the dengue fever, Ishan Kishan will continue to partner skipper Rohit Sharma at the top.

Talking about Kishan, Rathour said the southpaw had clear ideas about his new role.

"He has played as an opener. He understands the moment, that was the reason he has been in the team," Rathour said. "We knew that he can bat 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."

(With Reuters Inputs)