"Their bowling department is sensational" - Brad Hogg analyzes RCB’s IPL 2022 squad
Former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg feels that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) still look slightly weak in the batting department despite the revamped side following the IPL auction. He, however, is highly impressed with RCB’s bowling department, especially the fast bowlers.
The Bangalore franchise bought back last year’s Purple Cap winner Harshal Patel at the mega auction. They also purchased Aussie speedster Josh Hazlewood, while Mohammad Siraj was retained ahead of the auction.
At a Q&A session on his YouTube channel, Hogg was asked for his views on RCB’s 2022 squad. He stated:
“When I first looked at RCB, I thought they have done exactly what they have done before. They don’t have that batting depth. They are going in with the same problems they had in the previous years at No.3 and No.5. But their bowling department is sensational - Siraj, Patel and Hazlewood. There is a little bit of inexperience with spin.”
The former left-arm spinner added that Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli will complement each other as openers. He elaborated:
“Having Faf du Plessis up the order with Kohli is a better opening partnership, more experienced. Faf is explosive and Kohli can bat through the innings and play that backend game where he can take the match away. Who they bat at No.3 will be a key question.”
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Sharing his concluding thoughts on RCB, Hogg even gave his opinion on who should lead the team. He said:
“RCB are quite well setup with better all-rounders down that lower-order. It’s going to be interesting to see who captains that team. I’ll get Du Plessis to captain it.”
Kohli quit as captain of the franchise last season, ending his stint without an IPL trophy.
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Delhi Capitals (DC) will be without all-rounder Mitchell Marsh for the first few games of IPL 2022 due to national duty. According to Hogg, DC can given U19 World Cup hero Yash Dhull a chance in his absence.
The 51-year-old opined:
“I think DC might go for an extra overseas bowler in Marsh’s absence and play an inexperienced Indian batter at the top. They might give Yash Dhull a go, who did well in the U19 World Cup, to give him a little bit of exposure in IPL cricket. You’ve picked him, so you want to see what he has got.”
Marsh is part of the Australian squad in Pakistan. The series will end with a one-off T20I on April 5 while IPL 2022 begins on March 26.