India is a country brimming with emotions. It is just a way of living here. Letting these emotions out is way better than holding them in and for some the IPL provides the best outlet for this. You support your team, revel in their victories, beat yourself up during a bleak phase and go to war with anyone who demeans them in any way.( Fantasy tips for Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore)
So, just let the emotions flow this IPL season, enjoy the cricket, support your team with passion and for the ones who want to get even more involved, sign up for the highly intriguing IPL Fantasy league.
I am going to be your ‘Fantasy Guide’ for the entirety of the IPL. Now, how this is going to work is that, I do all the research and tell you what players are worth picking, what combinations you could go with, how the toss and pitch would influence the game and what kind of ‘schedule strategies’ you could use to your benefit.
Also, I’ll be giving thorough justifications on why I am going with a particular set of players and why some of the others will be missing out. So, just keep checking this space everyday before you make your Fantasy team to get some crucial player insights.
Also Read: Why you should play the IPL Fantasy League and Where?
Now, with the ‘Great IPL Fantasy debacle’ last time round. where the official league just refused to function, there is a growing sense of uncertainty all round with opting for the official league, and with so many alternatives available, Fandromeda being the best of them, I can understand why people would want to completely shun out the official Fantasy League. But just hold on a second, BCCI might me reading this and I don’t want to be on their bad side, you see.
So, I’ll be sticking with the official league because of the huge user base that it will have, but I’ll be playing the Fandromeda league as well because I respect the fact that it took care of my Fantasy needs when the official one didn’t care enough.
I’ll be giving out Fantasy tips for both the leagues, with the major focus being on the official one. But do play both, it would just take 5 more minutes of your time, and you know you don’t do anything productive anyway(Come on, whom are you kidding)
IPL Fantasy League
Before we delve into the initial team setup, let’s just talk about the paucity of transfers this time round.
There are just 75 transfers for 56 games, which is less than 1.5 transfers per game. So, you need to hold back initially. The teams would take some time in figuring out their best eleven, the correct batting order, the best bowlers in the middle overs, the best death bowlers etc. So don’t try and go for 50-50 picks at the start of the tournament.
Play it a little safe safe, stick to the basics, and maybe after the 12th game we could opt for some experiments.
There are a few thumb rules that you need to follow if you want to have any chance of soaring high in the Fantasy world. You can check them out here: Thumb Rules for the IPL Fantasy League
Now, that the basic guidelines are out of the way, let’s get down to business.
Initial Team Setup
While going through your ‘initial team setup’ strategy, the schedule is of paramount importance. If a team plays twice in the span of 3 games, you need to stack your team up with at least 3 players from that particular team, as you can reap benefits from those players for two games before you have to transfer them out.
Whenever you view the schedule, look at it for 4 games, from your vantage point. And figure out if there is any team that plays more than once in that cluster of 4 games. If yes, initially opt for at least 3 players from that time, and as the tournament progresses we can figure out the number of players that need to be picked(according to the performance of that particular team).
In the initial four games, Rising Pune Supergiant play twice and thus it is only fair that I pick at least 3 players from their side. And considering that they have a well balanced unit consisting of multiple match winners, I should be able to gain some benefit out of it.
Now, when you aren’t very sure about what the team combinations are going to look like(forget yourself, even the team managements aren’t quite sure about them), you shouldn’t stack your team up with too many players from the games that are scheduled later. Try and focus more on the first game, as it might happen that they player you pick doesn’t even feature in the playing XI. Focussing more on the first game will ensure that you wouldn’t have too many players on your team that would be warming the benches. Also, you can anyway make unlimited changes till the first ball of the tournament is bowled.
So, I’ll be going with 6 players from the first game(SRH vs RCB) which would include an uncapped player as well(you get one free uncapped transfer for every game). And I’ll be having 3 RPS players for the 2nd fixture with 2 MI players who are guaranteed to feature. I won’t be having any players from the 3rd fixture, GI vs KKR, for the reasons mentioned above.
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
RCB are depleted, SRH are in unfamiliar territory; there couldn’t have been a better game to kickstart the 10th season of the IPL. And I say that despite the fans being robbed of the Kohli-ABD show as it would be really intriguing to see how RCB fare without their talismanic duo, and it would be further intriguing to see how SRH deal with having the Champions tag around their neck.
The first player that I get in is David Warner. He was the major driving force for the Sunrisers during the victorious campaign last year, scoring 848 runs at a staggering average of 60.57. And while he didn’t have a great test series against India, in a different format and playing on classic batting pitches, leave him out at your own peril.
Bhuvaneshwar Kumar will be the second player that I bring into my team. I have always been a fan of Bhuvi in the shortest format, as he gives you two overs upfront, where he can swing the ball and cause trouble, and then he can give you two miserly overs at the death, with the added advantage of chipping in with a couple of cheap wickets. Also, with there being some rain in the air in Hyderabad, Bhuvi could just run through the RCB top order.
With Mustafizur out of the side, SRH will be looking to find a settled unit, and thus I have opted for the two most bankable players from their side. Even when Shikhar Dhawan is in the form of his life, you can’t trust him one bit. So, there is no point when he is trying to make a comeback. Moises Henriques and Ben Cutting could be good buys, but I would stay away from them at such an early stage, as I am unsure as to how they will be used by SRH this time round. Instead, I will go with Shane Watson as my all rounder for the game, as I am sure that he’ll feature in the top 4 and will bowl his full quota of 4 overs, 2 of which will be bowled during the death.
Yuzvendra Chahal is the second RCB player that I get into my side. He is one player that has been on the rise all through, managing to take wickets and bowl miserly despite playing the bulk of his games at the Chinnaswamy. His 6 wicket haul against England is a testament of how far he has come in his career as a leg spinner. Get him in, he could easily fetch you 60 points.
Kedar Jadhav will be my 3rd RCB pick for this game. With Virat and ABD out for this fixture, the high flying Jadhav would have to shoulder more responsibility, something that he has time and again showed at the international level, especially in the last series against England. Also, with Rahul and ABD out, Jadhav will be assuming wicketkeeping duties, and at a price of just 80,000, he is a steal to say the least.
Aniket Chaudhary is very highly regarded in the RCB camp. Such is the tenacity of this young left armer that he was brought in by the Indian side to help them deal with Mitchell Starc. RCB then bought him for Rs 2 crore, attributing the fact that this young left armer could very well be the find of this season’s IPL. Also, he comes in for just 70,000, providing great balance to your side.
Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Ajinkya Rahane, Steve Smith and Adam Zampa make the rest of my squad.
Jasprit Bumrah would be a constant in my side all through. He is the best Indian death bowler and would easily fetch you at least 50 points per game. Rohit Sharma is an IPL genius, and even though he is coming back from injury, he can set the stage on fire from the word go. You need to trust the big players, invest in them, because come the big stage, these are the one’s who’ll make you sail through.
Rahane, the ever so dependable opening batsman is bound to give you at least 100 points in the two games that he features in(before he gets transferred out). Steve Smith just had the tour of his live(on a personal level) and he just loves batting in Indian conditions. Adam Zampa lit up last year’s IPL in his short stint, taking a 6 for and ending his 5 games with an average of 9.58.
I have gone with Steve Smith instead of Faf Du Plesis as Smith has spend a good two months in India and is very well versed with the conditions.
More on these 5 players in tomorrow’s article.
Fandromeda tips on the next page:
Captain: Shane Watson(for his all round abilities)
Fandromeda
I wanted to opt for the same combination for Fandromeda as well, but for one Kedar Jadhav isn’t listed as a wicketkeeper in Fandromeda, so I had to go with the next best choice(similar price) from the next two matches, and that is Parthiv Patel. Parthiv will be opening the batting for the Mumbai Indians and ends up scoring a 50 more often than not.
Also, the IPL Fantasy league is a little more accommodating with respect to player roles. In Fandromeda, you need to have 6 Batsmen and 5 Bowlers(as opposed to a maximum of 5 Batsmen and 5 Bowlers in the official league. Hence, instead of Aniket Chaudhary, I go with an all rounder and Krunal Pandy will be my choice for that spot. Deepak Hooda was the next best option but he is not sure of bowling 4 overs and his batting position too was a mystery last season, so he doesn’t get the nod.
Krunal Pandya on the other hand should bowl at least 3 overs and is often used by the Mumbai Indians in the top 5. He was one of the best players for Mumbai last year and I am sure they’ll be itching to use him a more potent way this time round.
Batting Star: David Warner(because of the terrific season he had last year, especially at home)
Bowling Star: Bhuvaneshwar Kumar(if SRH bowl first)/ Shane Watson(if RCB bowl first)
Happy team picking 🙂
