ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Will KL Rahul bat at No. 4? India batting coach Vikram Rathour answers

KL Rahul scored 97* against Australia in Chennai and was named player of the match.

India batting coach Vikram Rathour faced the press ahead of the Men in Blue’s upcoming World Cup 2023 encounter against Afghanistan. This match will be played in Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium on October 11. Rathour during the presser also answered whether KL Rahul will bat at No. 4 due to his form.

KL Rahul made his comeback into the Indian team in Asia Cup 2023. He had been out of action due to undergoing surgery for the hip injury he had suffered during the IPL 2023. Rahul had been keeping wickets for India prior to that and batting in the middle order. He continued to do the same when he returned against Pakistan in Colombo and hit an amazing century.

He continued that good form in the Australia ODI series where he led India to victories in the first two matches and to a series win as well. He made two fifties in the first two matches with his Mohali knock coming in a tight chase.

Then in the first match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 against Australia, KL Rahul helped Virat Kohli rebuild the innings after Australia pacers had reduced India to 2/3, with both openers and no.4 batter out for ducks. Rahul remained unbeaten on 97 and had added 165 runs with Virat Kohli as India won by 6 wickets.

Vikram Rathour answers whether KL Rahul will be promoted to No.4 spot

KL Rahul has done so well in the middle order that some opined that the batter should bat at No. 4 instead of No. 5. This notion gained strength as Shreyas Iyer has not done that well at No. 4 since his own return to the Indian team after back surgery. He has only made a century against Australia in Indore but failed against Australia in Chennai in the World Cup match.

During the press conference in Delhi, Vikram Rathour was asked about these two players and their batting spots.

“The way KL Rahul and Virat Kohli are playing with each other - Is there a temptation to play KL Rahul not at number 5 but maybe number 4?”, Rathour was asked during the presser.  

The India batting coach replied: “No, not at the moment because he is doing so well at number 5 and Shreyas has done really well for us at number 4. So absolutely no temptations.”

India will play Afghanistan on October 11 and then against Pakistan on October 14 in the World Cup.