IPL 2014: Fantasy Guru - Don't lose your plot; reserve transfers
The game has just started. I see too many worrying about their points and rank; don’t even look at them till you reach the 30-game mark. Having gone the distance, I can assure you that this particular version of fantasy cricket isn’t child’s play. It is not about how many right moves you make; instead, it is about how many wrong moves you avoid. The transfer count matters. Use them only where you can get the maximum return.
Evaluating the Sunil Narine and Jacques Kallis omissions:
Guru’s team after the RCB vs. KKR match
Regular readers of this blog will be left wondering whether the decision to leave Sunil Narine and Jacques Kallis out of the team for the Royal Challengers Bangalore match, despite them not doing anything worthy as predicted, was a gamble worth having taken.
This is how you evaluate the move or, for that matter, any move that you do in a fantasy game.
In addition to Narine and Kallis’ possible ineffectiveness against RCB, there was one more reason why I did not push for their inclusion: the players that he would have replaced – Brendon McCullum, David Warner and Darren Sammy – all play a match before KKR play their second one against Kings X1 Punjab (one in which the 4th foreign player Glenn Maxwell is also a part of).
Coming back to the method to effectively judge a move,
Points scored by Sunil Narine (72) = Points the player he would have replaced would score in his respective match (in my case, McCullum vs. Mumbai Indians) + the points the new replacement scores in his match(es) (new replacement – who I replace McCullum with after the CSK match)
Assuming you have gone against what I had said, i.e., brought in Narine, all you are left with is 72 points, and, as per my calculation, with KKR not fitting to the ‘Schedule Mantra’ criteria – a 3-match repetitive round ideal for IPL 7 – you would most probably be in a situation to replace him with another overseas player before KKR compete against KXIP. Thereby, it leads to a further waste of transfer.
The fact that they are overseas players who come with costly price-tags means sticking with them for over a 3-match span is extremely difficult and is accompanied by losing out on sure-shot scoring options more often than not.
In case you have planned a way to stick with Narine till he plays against KXIP, you can add on the points that Narine scores in that match, as well, and compare it with my method.
Similarly, you calculate the points for Kallis scenario.
Points scored by Kallis (106) = Points the player he would have replaced would score in his respective match (Warner vs. Delhi Daredevils) + the points the new replacement scores in his match(es) (new replacement – who I replace Warner with after the SRH match)
Sticking with Kallis, at the budget he comes, is a headache, and there would be obviously be losses as a result of it. However, if you were confident with it, you can calculate accordingly as mentioned in the Narine sequence.
The David Warner Powerplayer backlash:
Warner was chosen by me ahead of Glenn Maxwell to captain the Sunrisers Hyderabad vs. KXIP fixture. What happened then – Warner scored some 20-odd as compared to Maxwell who scored 200-odd points – doesn’t change my opinion in anyway. There was sound logic behind what I did and why I did, as explained in the article related to it. First of all, I did not expect Maxwell to flop; I expected Warner to outscore Maxwell. While I can’t speak for Warner messing it up, as I can’t play for him, the fears regarding Maxwell should have been realised when he did what he did after being given 3 lifelines: a dropped catch, out of a no ball, and a miscued shot, where the ball appeared to be in the skies for around 15 seconds only for it to fall on no-man’s land.
He rode his luck, and I can’t account for it.
Let us not even get into Shikhar Dhawan not bringing on Dale Steyn, whom Maxwell struggled to score off. While I know Dhawan’s captaincy rivals with George Bailey in terms of having little clue on how they go about their business, this was a new low: referring to it as a schoolboy error would be an understatement.
I do not like to discuss about the moves that I make after the events get over, as looking at the results in hindsight is one of the dim-witted things to do in any aspect of life. I standby every single move I have taken so far. If you have a counter-argument prior to the match, I am all ears. But I don’t care about what you think of the move after the match.
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs. Delhi Daredevils:
Guru’s team for the SRH vs. DD match
Transfer made – 0; Transfer available – 60
Captain – Amit Mishra
Karn Sharma in – Yuzvendra Chahal out
I badly hope Sunrisers get back on track right from this match, for they have the potential and I have my team ready without making any substituions. With a choice made between Warner and Aaron Finch ahead of their previous fixture and Darren Sammy and Amit Mishra in my team, I don’t really see the need for any other player.
For those who have not followed me so far, you can very well go ahead with Finch ahead of Warner. It is just that I have to choose one of the two, whom I see as making it big, and I have opted for the New South Wales southpaw.
Dale Steyn – Neither is he going to run through oppositions nor is he consistently exceptional at death like Malinga, and hence him being an overseas player keeps me away from depending on him.
Delhi Daredevils:
With Kevin Pietersen most likely to play and the franchise in the middle of a horror run, the Daredevils will undergo a massive change in their set-up for the next match.
As a result, Mayank Agarwal, Jimmy Neesham, Ross Taylor and Manoj Tiwary may be dropped; Kevin Pietersen may open or bat at No. 4 depending upon Quinton de Kock’s inclusion; and JP Duminy may be demoted to 6 (if one of Saurabh Tiwary/Kedar Jadhav is employed as floaters). None of their bowlers stand out, more so with Nathan Coulter-Nile’s injury.
Do you really want to pick a player from this team at this point of time? I don’t even consider it as an option.
However, if Pietersen continues to remain unfit, JP Duminy must be a part of your playing 11, as he will play a crucial role in deciding the fate of the match.