How To Create A Winning IPL Fantasy Cricket League Team
Tags: Fantasy Sports, Ipl, Fantasy Cricket, Cricket, Dream11

The popularity of IPL fantasy cricket is soaring in India. Every year the number of gamers who participate in such contests is increasing at a rapid rate. But only a tiny fraction of players know how to create an IPL fantasy team for an IPL fantasy league.

So, in this blog, we are sharing IPL fantasy tips for Dream11 contests. These tips will come in handy when you form teams for IPL fantasy league contests on Dream11.

How to create a winning IPL fantasy team on Dream11

Read the rules of a fantasy cricket league thoroughly

First and foremost, you should thoroughly read the rules of the fantasy cricket league you intend to participate in. Often gamers start by forming their teams without even knowing the rules of a fantasy league. If their team formation doesn’t fit the rules of the fantasy league, they would be disqualified.

Therefore, you should know the rules like the back of your hand. For example, at Dream11, your fantasy team should be made with a maximum of 100 credits. Of the 11 players, a maximum of 7 can be from one team. Further, you should have between 1 to 4 wicket keepers, 3 to 6 batsmen, 1 to 4 all-rounders, and 3–6 bowlers. You should also know how many points you can get and for which aspect of the game.

Here’s the Dream11 fantasy cricket points calculator for T20, ODI, Test, T10, The Hundred, Other T20, Other ODI, and Other Test matches.

Focus on the real performance of a player and not the hype

Often there’s a lot of hype around players for no specific reason. It’s mostly fanned by the media. The key thing for you as a gamer is to learn how to keep the reality of a player’s performance away from the hype.

Always check the statistics about a player’s performance to separate the wheat from the chaff. When analyzing their past performance, pay attention to the conditions under which they performed.

For example, Steve Smith is a terrific test batsman; however, his record isn’t that great in white-ball cricket. Therefore, you’ve got to think whether it makes sense to select him in your dream IPL team or not. After all, IPL is a 20-over contest, which is played with a white-ball.

Sufficient attention must be paid to the top 3 batsmen of both the participating teams

As an IPL match is a 20-over contest, not all batsmen get to spend too much time at the crease. If you’ve chosen a batsman who comes 4 down or 5 down, then the chances are very high that he may not even get enough deliveries to score runs.

That’s why you should pay the maximum attention to the top 3 batsmen of both the teams because they are going to get the most time in the middle to score runs and earn you points.

If you notice team formations closely, you’d realize that often the best batters are among the top 3 of a lineup. For example, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli often bat at Number 1 and 3, respectively, in India’s T20 side.

Hunt for all-rounders because they can get you points both with a bat and a ball

It’s a well-known fact that an all-rounder can perform both as a batsman and a bowler. But in no other fantasy contest is an all-rounder more important than a T20 league like IPL.

IPL fantasy leagues are tightly contested by millions of gamers in India. In order to get the maximum value out of each player in your playing XI, have at least 4 all rounders in your team because they can perform with both bat and ball. And, if you have an all-rounder like Ravindra Jadeja, he is a top fielder, too, apart from being a capable batsman and bowler.

It’s not for nothing that IPL teams are willing to pay an unbelievable price for players like Hardik Pandya, Andre Russell, and Kieron Pollard. All these terrific all-rounders are proven match-winners, especially in the T20 format.

That said, you must also ensure that you follow the rules while picking all-rounders. Like we already said, at Dream11, you can maximum have four all rounders in your team.

Pick a captain and vice-captain wisely

In fantasy cricket contests, a captain and vice captain are allotted much higher points than other players. Therefore, you should pick them wisely. The key factor to consider is a captain and a vice-captains record in the IPL. For example, despite having a great record in test-matches, Virat Kohli’s record as the captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) was nothing to write home about. This shows that Kohli may not be the right pick for either the captain’s or vice captain’s role. Conversely, Eoin Morgan took Kolkata Knight Riders to the final of IPL 2021 thanks to his astute captaincy.

In Dream11 contests, a captain will fetch you 2X of points scored by him in the actual match and a vice-captain will get you 1.5X of points. So, use all your cricket knowledge to select the captain and vice-captain of your dream team.

Playing conditions like a pitch’s surface and weather are extremely important

You can’t be forming a dream team without knowing how a pitch will play and what weather conditions are likely to be. IPL mostly happens in India and at times even in the UAE, if conditions aren’t suitable to host matches in India. In these countries, pitches tend to be slow, which offer some support for spin bowling.

Therefore, you should have at least one good quality spinner in your team. That’s the reason, spinners like Rashid Khan, Rahul Chahar, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja command a lot of attention in IPL matches.

That said, even fast bowlers are very important in IPL contests. Because pitch conditions aren’t right for seam and swing in countries like India and the UAE, you should focus on fast bowlers, who have other skills. Like, Jasprit Bumrah can bowl yorkers in death overs. So, you can consider him in your lineup.

Always have death over-specialist bowlers in your dream team

A death-over specialist takes wickets for his team in the last overs of a game when it matters the most. Of all the bowlers in a lineup, he has the highest probability of taking wickets and getting you points. That’s the reason, you should always have a few death-over specialists in your team.

It’s no wonder that Bumrah’s ability to bowl yorkers in death overs in IPL made people sit up and take note of his talent. Kagiso Rabada from South Africa is another bowler, who can ball really well in death overs.

Rabada balls at 140kmph plus, which rattles batsmen and gets him wickets in the final stages of games. Similarly, Jofra Archer from England can also ball quickly in death overs. Besides, he has several variations, like a bouncer and slower delivery, to surprise batters.

Find a wicketkeeper who can play in the Top 3

If you can have a wicketkeeper in your lineup, who can also play in the Top 3, it will be killing two birds with a stone. Because in that case, a wicketkeeper will not only be keeping wickets but will also be a top-order batsman.

This is why players like Joss Buttler and K. L. Rahul is in huge demand because apart from batting in the Top 3, they are also wicket keepers of their teams. Having a player who performs well in two roles comes in handy in fantasy cricket contests.

Keep a close track of the latest news and developments

A lot of things can happen just before a match to disrupt its course. For example, a sudden injury to a key player or sudden rain before the start of a match. Such events can have a huge impact on a game’s result. Therefore, you should keep close track of the latest news and reports.

In case of an injury, you should have an idea of which player is likely to be the replacement.

Download the Dream11 App and participate in fantasy IPL contests

Now that you know the best way to form your own fantasy cricket team, download Dream11 Fantasy Cricket App/Apk on Android and iOS today and start participating in exciting contests.