IPL 2014: Fantasy Guru - Watch Schedule Mantra at work

If you think that you have started a little too late for the official IPL Fantasy League 2014, you can always play this alternative version of fantasy cricket where you can win cash prizes daily – SportskeedaFantasyLeague. The next round has two matches featuring four teams: Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders.

In this type of fantasy cricket, while assembling your playing 11 for the two matches, make sure you don’t miss out on players like Ben Hilfenhaus, Karn Sharma, Ishwar Pandey and Chris Lynn who could prove to be the differential at a comparatively lower rate. While you can play for free, if you choose to play with an entry fee to Rs 35, you can win Rs 300. You can pay upto Rs 1,150 and win Rs 10,000 in cash for every round.

From a fantasy point of view, the last couple of days have been terrible, to say the least. When one of your captains gets run out (Rohit Sharma), other is at the receiving end of one of the worst decisions you will ever see (Virat Kohli), and your 3 notable substitutions show why they deserved to be picked but fall short of giving enough points as a result of either disappointing performances from their team or the opposition (Kevin Pietersen, Darren Sammy and Kieron Pollard), you have every reason to wonder what on earth is happening at the United Arab Emirates. It is the IPL, apparently.

I can easily say that this has been my worst start to any fantasy tournament – with 15 of my 18 captaincy picks backfiring – yet the team finds itself to be in a healthy state.

I have never been a big supporter of doubling up the points for a captain; it should probably be there to make the game look real. It isn’t going to change, anyway.

Having had a look at few other fantasy cricket players I rate, the points and transfer count seem to range between 5300 to 6000 and 53-56, respectively. My team has accumulated 5384 points at the cost of 23 transfers. Had a couple more captaincy picks gone my way, it would have looked a lot better.

I don’t usually change my track, be it in relation to my captaincy picks or team strategy, unless and until I see myself falling short midway into the tournament. I have opted not to do it this time, too. It is too early to predict what the scores would look like by the end of the IPL, more so when the tourney shifts itself to a whole new set of venues halfway through.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Rajasthan Royals:

Guru’s team for the KKR vs. RR match

Transfers made – 2; Transfers remaining – 50

David Miller out – Jacques Kallis in
Chris Gayle out – Sunil Narine in
Yuzvendra Chahal out – Pravin Tambe in
Captain – Sunil Narine

The fact that the Knight Riders play 2 games in a 3-match round makes them fit into the Schedule Mantra scheme. In simple, even if you are uncertain about the points that they would bring you, just get them in. It doesn’t mean you transfer in the likes of Gautam Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan. While Sunil Narine is a no-brainer for tomorrow, I would have brooded over bringing in Kallis. But when he gives you two games, it doesn’t really matter.

Chris Lynn is the only other option who is worth considering. I haven’t yet seen him deliver on pitches that are challenging to bat. Against bowling attacks that are in good form – Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings – and on pitches that aid bowlers to an extent – Abu Dhabi and Ranchi, I wouldn’t have him even when Schedule Mantra can be applied to his team.

Rajasthan Royals:

When the Royals play only one game in a 3-match round in the IPL, Ajinkya Rahane will never make it into my team, as his limitations start surfacing outside Powerplay and he scores at 120 SR at best.

Shane Watson, by the time he comes into bat, will have to deal with Narine. Given his limited capabilities when it comes to dealing with spin bowlers, I would have him out, as well.

The rest bat too low to make an impact and none of Royals’ bowlers have been outstanding to disturb our fantasy teams.

Uncapped player pick:

Whenever the Royals play, you are spoilt for choices. Sanju Samson has shown his ability to play Narine, in IPL 2013; I do not quite understand how he did it, but I have seen him doing it.

It doesn’t matter much, as Narine would not bowl too many to him, given how Gambhir uses his strike bowler: 1 over in first 12 and 3 in last 8. There isn’t any real obstacle in getting him in, especially when he has got the brains. The 19-year-old is capable of playing Narine only when he is not forced to attack, so, if by any chance, the opening pair bats long and he comes in after the 12-over mark, he would be forced to go after Narine, which isn’t the best option. The possibilities of that happening are very less, though.