How Do I Become a Fantasy Cricket Expert?
Playing fantasy cricket is quite a trend these days, many fans of sports love to form their own fantasy cricket teams and try out their luck. But luck is not always enough to win fantasy sports games; it requires great knowledge about the sport, its players and the skill to win. Before getting into the game you need to have some tricks up your sleeve and try them out in practice games.
To help you out, here are some key mantras that you should always remember while forming your fantasy team; they might just make your task a little easier.
Always pick the right combination
You always have to keep yourself updated on the rankings, the players' availability and their past records in relation with the pitch. Keep in mind, adding more top order batsmen would get you more points than choosing the ones lower in order as they might not get a chance to play. Also remember to check the current form of the player, a batsman might be topping the charts but is currently not playing that well, or does not do well on that particular pitch. When it comes to picking bowlers for the team, it is best to choose wicket taking bowlers over run saving bowlers. A low economy bowler would not get you as many points as a wicket taking bowler.
Remember to form a well balanced team
To win a fantasy league, the best strategy is to form a well balanced team. Keep an equal number of good bowlers and batsmen in your team. It is quite common for a fantasy league player to forget to maintain a balance and fill his team with more batsmen than bowlers. This is what makes them lose, if the batsmen do not perform well; or the pitch or weather are more bowling friendly. Always remember to check the pitch and weather in detail before forming the team and maintain a good balance between the number of bowlers and batsmen in your fantasy team. You can and must edit your team after the toss, based on which team plays first.
Be careful when picking the captain and vice captain
As the team captain and vice captain win you extra points, on the fantasy point system, with a similar performance to the rest of the players, choosing the right captain and vice captain could help you earn some extra points. So, choose the players who have a consistent performance throughout the series and come up top in the order or would surely get some good runs in the match. Choosing an all rounder to be your vice captain is also a smart idea, as they might get you a few points by both, bowling and batting, in the match.
Choose one uncapped player
Every team has a newcomer, whether it is the Indian T20 league or any other format, the one who hasn't previously played in an international league; you can choose this player to be in your team as a keeper batsman or a bowler, depending on his role in the team he is playing. Just make sure that he is a part of the playing eleven before adding them to your team. You never know how well the uncapped player might end up performing in the league.
Check the weather and the pitch
The weather and the pitch are the main the deciders of the game. By keeping a close watch on the weather reports of the city the match is to happen and researching about the pitch would help you form a team better. If the pitch and the weather seem to favor batsmen, you can add more top batsmen to the team and if the pitch is more bowler-friendly. Add more wicket taking bowlers to the team. And if the pitch is dry, you can add more spinners to the team; if it favors swing then you can add more swing bowlers.
Choose players practically
It is highly necessary for you to choose your team practically, rather than choosing the players you like and support. Supporting a player as a fan is great, but putting him in your team even they are out of form at the moment, is not a good idea. Choose the right players, who can add more points and bring you benefit. Losing money over your favorite player isn't the right way to play fantasy Cricket. Also remember, do not chase the big names, and choose your team after studying the performance of each player closing in the recent matches and on that particular pitch.