"Punjab Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad will finish at the bottom of the table"- Brad Hogg ahead of IPL 2022

Former Australian left-arm wrist-spinner Brad Hogg believes the Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will end up as the bottom two teams in the league phase of the IPL 2022 season.

PBKS signed a number of quality players like Shikhar Dhawan and Kagiso Rabada in the IPL 2022 auction. However, the 51-year-old feels they have a brittle middle-order and are lacking multiple quality spinners.

In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Brad Hogg explained why PBKS would not make it to the IPL 2022 playoffs:

"I think the Punjab Kings are going to be at the bottom of the ladder. They are depleted in spin and their middle-order has holes."

Brad Hogg also shed light on how weak SRH are in terms of having quality Indian players in both the batting and bowling departments. The 51-year-old reckons a lot would depend on how the overseas players perform. He added:

"I also think the Sunrisers are going to be at the bottom as well. I don't think they have enough depth in their Indian bowling department and Indian batters. So they will rely heavily on their overseas batters and their local Indian bowlers. If you have an injury, it's curtains for Sunrisers Hyderabad."

Faf du Plessis has good credentials to take over from Virat Kohli at RCB: Brad Hogg

Brad Hogg also stated that the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have made the right decision to pass the baton of captaincy from Virat Kohli to South African veteran Faf du Plessis. He said:

"Faf du Plessis is a good choice for RCB. I think he has good credentials to take over from Virat Kohli there. He has got such vast experience with his captaincy for South Africa and that knowledge will help that particular line-up. He is a calm, collected player so he keeps a cool mind."

Du Plessis worked closely with MS Dhoni for almost a decade at the Chennai Super Kings. Brad Hogg believes this experience could certainly come in handy for the 37-year-old while captaining RCB. He added:

"He has a lot of experience of being with MS Dhoni and seeing how he goes about it so got to utilize that knowledge when you have got it. So that is the best resource for RCB."

RCB will begin their IPL 2022 campaign in Match 3 against the Punjab Kings on Sunday.