India has millions of cricket fanatics. That’s why it doesn’t come as a surprise when the fantasy cricket game is popular all over the country. In a country like ours, where everyone is a cricket pundit, a game that enables one to test one’s sports knowledge excites a lot of sports fans.
This article explains how you can use your cricket expertise to win contests and leagues in fantasy cricket. The way you read the game can be of great use while selecting your fantasy XI on a trusted app like the Howzat app, which is available on the Play Store and allows you to play fantasy cricket for free. A pre-match analysis should be done to predict how a particular player will perform in the match. Here are some important factors you must consider while selecting your fantasy team:
- Select the captain and the vice captain wisely
Choosing the right captain and the vice captain is of utmost importance. The captain gets 2X points and the vice captain gets 1.5X points as other players for the same performance. You must capitalize on that factor and select the best players as your captain and vice captain. Choosing the right batsman, bowler or all-rounder as your captain and vice captain could win the contest for you.
For instance, you have all the best-performing players of a particular match on your team but chose wrong players as your captain and vice captain. This simple mistake could reduce your chances of winning drastically.
- Study the pitch
You should do a thorough research on the nature of the pitch. If the pitch favors spin bowlers, spinners should be included in your line-up, whereas batsmen who excel against spin should edge out the others. This may result in the omission of certain well-known names, but it is an important factor to consider. If a batsman or bowler has a stronger record at a particular venue, he or she should be preferred. Sometimes the pitch might get better to bat on in the second half of the match due to the dew factor or any other conditions. In such cases, batsmen who chase well will edge out those who play well in the first innings in fantasy team selection.
- Do not select players on the basis of their stature
While selecting players, you have to take into account many factors such as the current form of the players and the pitch, but do not give too much weightage to the stature of the players. A player might be in the final phase of his/her career and not in his/her prime anymore. Hence, a player’s reputation shouldn’t take precedence in your team selection. Moreover, a certain player might be better in other formats of the game and not very good in the format in question, so the format is another relevant factor to consider while picking your fantasy team. A player who has scored a lot of runs in red-ball cricket might not be a great T20 cricketer.
- Select a balanced team
You have to pick a minimum of one all-rounder and one wicketkeeper while the number of batsmen and bowlers should be at least 3 each. An ideal team includes a high number of top-order batsmen as they have a higher probability of facing more deliveries than the lower-order batsmen, especially in the shorter formats of the game like T10 or T20. Picking a batsman with a high strike rate is very impactful in a real cricket match but in terms of fantasy points, it isn’t very rewarding. All-rounders who bat in the top 4 are the best picks for a fantasy team in the majority of the matches.
The same rule applies to bowlers. Bowlers who are just economical are less rewarding than the ones who bowl during death overs and pick wickets. If two bowlers’ bowling figures are 4-1-16-1 and 3-0-47-3, the former will get fewer points than the latter despite the first bowler’s contribution being equally important for the team.
- Create multiple teams
One of the most successful strategies in fantasy sports is to create multiple teams with several different team combinations for the same contest to maximize your chances of winning. Howzat allows you to create up to 40 teams for one contest. So if you lose with one team, you might end up winning with some other team that has a different player combination.
- Keep an eye out for the toss and any last-minute changes
Last but not least, keep an eye on the toss result and keep a note of whether the captains have announced any changes to their team. Captains and team management might exclude a player from the line-up for some unforeseen reasons. A player who is a certainty before the match may miss out on the match due to an illness while an unexpected player might get lucky due to the situation.
Injuries are part and parcel of the sport and any injuries suffered, especially during the practice sessions, often change a team’s strategies. As a fantasy contestant, you have to make sure that all the players in your teams are part of the playing XI. Selecting a player who isn’t a part of the playing XI can be disastrous and make a big difference in the contest.
We hope these tips and tricks help you succeed more in fantasy cricket. If you have cricket skills and a good knowledge of the game, play fantasy cricket games on the Howzat cash app today and win big cash prizes. Check out the Howzat blog to stay informed about the latest news of the cricket world and match predictions.