"I'm not confident of them finishing in the top four" - Brad Hogg believes middle-order woes will continue to haunt RCB 

Former Australian spinner Brad Hogg does not see Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) qualifying for the playoffs in 2022 IPL. The franchise have qualified for the playoffs in the last two editions but were knocked out in the eliminator.

After retaining Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj ahead of the auction, RCB made some high-profile buys in the form of Harshal Patel and Wanindu Hasaranga. Hogg feels the franchise will have to rely on inexperienced youngsters to fill the No.3 and No.6 spots in the batting line-up.

In this regard, Hogg stated on his YouTube channel:

"RCB have Kohli and Faf at the top of the order. They will once again have to fill the No.3 spot with a youngster. Then there's Maxwell and Karthik at No.4 and No.5, again the No.6 is a little bit of a hole. Good quality options in the pace department. Hasaranga is a good acquisition. If they get some consistency they can win the tournament, but for me with their holes at No.3 and No.6, I'm not confident of them finishing in the top four."

RCB experimented with the likes of Rajat Patidar and Shahbaz Ahmad for the No.3 and No.6 slots before moving on to Daniel Christian in the second leg of IPL 2021.

Hogg also notes that the situation at Rajasthan Royals (RR) is a little different as they have concerns with their top-order batting. The 51-year-old feels that the opening combination of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal is raw and inexperienced. Hogg said:

"RR's first XI is absolutely sensational. They have got a good balanced squad. The worry is Padikkal and Jaiswal at the top, those two are relatively new to IPL cricket. I'm worried about their strike rate in the powerplay. If they don't get away, then opposition bowlers can put pressure on them and set up tough moments for Samson and Buttler. It's a good solid team but it's got to set up in the powerplay and the only thing that worries me is the openers. It wouldn't surprise me if they play finals cricket at the end of IPL 2022."

Not many expected RR to go for openers at the auction after retaining Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal. However, the franchise secured the services of Devdutt Padikkal with a winning bid of ₹7.75 crore.

"I think Shahrukh Khan will be the MVP this season" - Brad Hogg

Punjab Kings (PBKS) walked into the auction with the highest purse and inevitably were the busiest franchise over the course of the event. They were active from the word go and secured two marquee players in Shikhar Dhawan and Kagiso Rabada.

With two power hitters in the form of Liam Livingstone and Shahrukh Khan, Hogg praised the recruitment in the batting department but sees issues in the bowling unit. He said:

"Punjab's strength is their batting. They've got a powerful batting lineup. You've got Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan at the top, you cannot get a better opening combination than that. I think Shahrukh Khan will be the MVP this season. I'm looking forward to big things from him. They have not recruited the best bowling options on offer. Yes, they have Rabada and they have Arshdeep who has got a bright future, but he will be under a lot of pressure. Their bowling is depleted, the batsmen will have to make big runs to avoid that pressure on the bowling attack."

The 2014 IPL finalists have gone heavy on all-rounders with options like Ishan Porel, Odean Smith and Rishi Dhawan at their disposal. Kagiso Rabada will have to shoulder a lot of responsibility in the Punjab Kings bowling unit.