Former Australian spinner Brad Hogg has backed Yashasvi Jaiswal to keep shining in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League 2024. Jaiswal recently scored 712 runs in five Test matches against England at an impressive average of 89, including two double centuries.
The left-hander was awarded Player of the Series for his consistent performance. On the other hand, Jaiswal scored 625 runs in 14 matches in the previous season of the IPL at an impressive average of 48.08 and a strike rate of 163.61.
Jaiswal has taken giant strides in the last couple of years and he could have a huge season for Rajasthan Royals.
“I’ve been studying the RR team, and I could find only two holes in their lineup . They are set up by a very strong top order. Jaiswal has got extra confidence going into this particular season, the way his Test career has taken off. I think we are going to see the best of him in IPL 2024,” Brad Hogg said on his YouTube channel.
Hogg added that Ravichandran Ashwin can be promoted as a floater if RR loses early wickets. But the former left-arm spinner believes Prasidh Krishna’s injury will hurt RR for the second consecutive season and he also backed Avesh Khan to have a breakthrough season.
“RR have a well-balanced top six with Hetmyer, Parag and Powell in that line-up. The other thing I like about this lineup is that Ashwin can play as a floater. If they lose early wickets, they can drop their hitters down the order and Ashwin can come up the order. Their bowling, although quality, none of them can hold a bat,” Hogg opined.
“Prasidh Krishna’s injury really hurts RR, he could have had a real big season. I really like Avesh Khan, I think he is going to have one of the best seasons that we have seen of him,” Hogg added.
Meanwhile, RR spent a hefty amount of INR 5.8 crores to rope in Shubham Dubey in the IPL 2024 auction. Hogg feels the youngster can be the impact player for the inaugural champions.
“One of the major issues RR have is with their batting depth. They have bought someone from nowhere, Shubham Dubey. I’ve seen some clips of him playing tennis cricket. Yes, he can swing a willow, but I have not seen too much of him at first-class level. He can be the impact player for RR, I don’t see him playing any other part than that,” Hogg said
Rajasthan Royals will begin their IPL campaign against Lucknow Super Giants at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on March 24.
RR SQUAD FOR IPL 2024
Sanju Samson (c), Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Sen, Navdeep Saini, Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Avesh Khan, Rovman Powell, Shubham Dubey, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Abid Mushtaq, Nandre Burger.
