Former India cricketer Deep Dasgupta has joined Mobile Premier League (MPL) as a fantasy expert for the second phase of the Indian Cricket League. The tournament will run between September 19 to October 15 in the UAE. As the fantasy players look forward to the intriguing season, Dasgupta has revealed the key to pick a perfect fantasy XI.
What Is Fantasy Cricket?
Fantasy cricket, as the name suggests, is an online fantasy game where you can create a virtual cricket team of 11 players from an upcoming real-life match. The process of playing a fantasy cricket match is quite simple. Your main objective is to score as many points as possible and achieve a position on the leadership board by beating your opponents.
Deep Dasgupta reveals the key to pick a perfect MPL Fantasy XI team
#1. Under the lens
The most important thing is the condition on offer. A fantasy player needs to study and analyse the conditions, the wicket on offer, the venue, and players’ previous performances on that ground before picking up a fantasy XI team.
For example, if a wicket assists swing bowlers, it is imperative to have a pacer in your fantasy team who can swing the ball both ways.
#2. Key Battles
It is crucial to identify the key battles between both the teams that are playing and which players have good numbers under their belt against which opposition, suggests Deep Dasgupta.
For example, if there are a lot of left-handers in the opposite team and we have Ravichandran Ashwin on our side we will be rest assured of the outcome since Ashwin’s record against southpaws is pretty good.
Hence it is necessary to study the numbers and the key battles for every match since every single match will be different from one another.
#3. Fantasy Five
It mainly involves five performers who are certain players whose chances of performing are 80% to 90%. They become the base of the team which can make the difference, feels Deep Dasgupta.
#4. Differential Picks
These players make all the difference in the team. If one notices 60% to 70% of all the teams remain the same, the difference between a good team and a winning team gets reflected through the differential picks, believes Deep Dasgupta.
In order to execute such picks, it is important to do a proper study and take risks as well, however it should be a calculated one. They might not be the base players whose performance will be good by a high percentile however these players will be good in comparison to the opposite team.
#5. Captain/Vice-Captain Picks
It is important to choose the Captains and Vice Captains wisely since they generate good points. Generally, it is a trend to make the sure-shot performers as the vice-captains or captains, like if there is Kohli or R. Sharma in a team it is plausible that they will be made the captain and vice-captain.
This will not make a difference, in such scenarios we need to choose from the differential picks. Backing up the is preferential. Since there can be multiple teams that you will have, a calculated risk needs to be taken in the aspect where there will be one team that will be safe, another team that is risky, and another team that is a little less risky.
However, the focus should be on the captain and the vice-captain since they generate the maximum points.