“You don’t want that” - Brad Hogg explains why RCB should continue with Anuj Rawat as opener in IPL 2022

Former Australian left-arm spinner Brad Hogg reckons that the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have got it right regarding their top-three batters in IPL 2022. He feels young Anuj Rawat should continue to open and that Virat Kohli is best suited at No. 3.

Skipper Faf du Plessis and Rawat have opened the batting for RCB in all the IPL 2022 matches the franchise have played so far. They have tasted mixed success. Kohli opened the batting for Bangalore last season when he was the captain.

According to Hogg, there is no need for the franchise to change their opening pair this season. He explained while speaking on his YouTube channel that Rawat will find life tougher if he comes in at No. 3. Hogg elaborated:

“Virat Kohli at No.3 is the perfect fit. If Anuj Rawat goes out to bat at the No. 3 position and there’s an early wicket, there's more pressure on him. You don’t want that.”

Rawat, 22, has scored 125 runs in five matches for RCB with a best of 66, while Du Plessis has amassed 146 runs with a highest of 88. Kohli, meanwhile, has managed 107 runs with a top score of 48.

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“RCB have a good balanced line-up” - Brad Hogg impressed with franchise’s batting resources

Bangalore lost to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 23 runs in Tuesday’s IPL 2022 encounter, faltering while chasing 217. But Hogg believes RCB have a solid batting line-up, which should serve them well in the tournament. He said:

“RCB have a good balanced line-up. Liking Rawat with Du Plessis at the top of the order. Rawat’s able to play with freedom and without much pressure because he has got Du Plessis and Kohli around him.”

Elaborating on the depth of RCB's batting unit, the Aussie added:

“There is good depth in their batting. Expect Maxwell to bat at 4 majority of the time. (Dinesh) Karthik is being used as a floater. They have the all-rounders, who can bat in front of Karthik if they are under pressure at the 10-over mark. If they don’t lose wickets, Karthik comes in.”

Bangalore crumbled to 50 for four against CSK. Shahbaz Ahmed (41), debutant Suyash Prabhudessai (34) and Dinesh Karthik (34) then combined to give some respectability to Bangalore's total of 193 for nine.