IPL 2018 Fantasy Guru: What your team should look like for KKR vs MI
Subs used – 2; Subs remaining – 20
Virat Kohli out – Robin Uthappa in
Mujeeb Zadran out – Andre Russell in
(Uncapped) Krishnappa Gowtham out - Krunal Pandya in
Uncapped preference order: Suryakumar Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Nitish Rana, Mayank Markande, Ishan Kishan, Prasidh Krishna, Shubman Gill (BP - No.7)
Captain - Suryakumar Yadav
Captaincy preference order: Suryakumar Yadav, Robin Uthappa, Evin Lewis, Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah
Differentials: Evin Lewis, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah
Multipliers remaining - 2
Guru’s team ahead of RR vs KXIP: S Yadav, R Uthappa, L Rahul, J Buttler, C Gayle, S Samson, A Russell, K Pandya, J Archer, S Kaul, B Kumar
Mumbai Indians should go into the match unchanged, while with Shivam Mavi still unfit, Tom Curran in place of Mitchell Johnson is the only possibility in the Kolkata Knight Riders XI. That is where it stops being simple, however, as fantasy wise this is one of the trickiest matches of the season.
The reason I say so is because Mumbai have a 5-match break after this fixture, so I can’t spend any subs on Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Evin Lewis and Jasprit Bumrah – the four best-capped options from the team today (in that order).
They aren't without threats either: Rohit might not face enough deliveries; Pandya, while is being used more aggressively by the team management of late, still could be a hit-or-miss case; Lewis just hasn’t been able to convert his 30s and 40s into a real big score; and as it can happen with any bowler, Bumrah may not get you the returns worth the substitution even if bowls well.
KKR, on the other hand, have players who are good, but again not without weaknesses. Robin Uthappa is the least susceptible, as his lone threat today is Bumrah’s pace and bounce, so I am getting him in. There is only one overseas spot open, and with Chris Lynn having as many as three bowlers in Markande, Krunal and Bumrah who are capable of dismissing him, it becomes a shootout between Andre Russell and Sunil Narine.
I can’t see a standout pick here, as Dinesh Karthik hasn’t been consistent with the usage of Russell the bowler and Narine will have to deal with both a capable batting and bowling unit. Considering all these factors involved and also keeping the next KKR fixture in mind, which will be against Kings XI Punjab at Indore, I have opted to go with Russell.
Among the uncapped players in play, Suryakumar Yadav, Krunal Pandya and Nitish Rana could all you give you excellent returns. I already have Yadav in my team, and of the remaining two, I prefer Krunal as he can contribute with both bat and ball.