IPL Fantasy 2021: How to set up your team | IPL Fantasy Tips
The IPL season-long 2021 Fantasy is here, and the Fantasy cricket fraternity will be busy setting up their teams over the next few days.
The official Fantasy game of the IPL will continue to be powered by the Dream11 engine. Just like last season, they have stuck to the original and popular format of the game.
The general transfer system is similar to that of last season, which had transfers to be made after every matchday. However, there have been some changes to the transfer system as well as the overall points-scoring system this year.
IPL Fantasy is always a bit difficult for beginners, more so this year, with some complicated rules coming into play. On that note, let's take a look at what's new this season, as well as some tips on setting up your Fantasy team.
Click here to create your IPL Fantasy 2021 team if you haven't already.
What's new in the IPL Fantasy 2021 Team this season?
#1 Free Uncapped Transfers
Free transfers for uncapped players were a big feature of pre-2019 IPL Fantasy, something plenty of IPL Fantasy players used to their advantage.
Dream11 has changed this rule by which players could bring in one uncapped player for free ahead of every match. These transfers won't be deducted from the total pool of transfers now, so IPL Fantasy players can be more flexible with their teams and save transfers, if required.
#2 Transfers before every 'match' and not 'Matchday':
This change applies only to double-headers. Last season, IPL Fantasy players maintained one team for both matches on a double-header because they had to make their transfers based on Matchdays.
This season, however, transfers will be made before every match. That means players will have to make their transfers ahead of either the 3:30 PM or the 7:30 PM games and won't have one single transfer deadline, as it was the case last season.
While this rule change will require IPL Fantasy players to be more proactive, it also gives them a lot of flexibility regarding their transfer choices. It also doesn't restrict them from choosing one captain for two matches.
#3 Boosters
Boosters were a part of the 2018 and 2019 editions of IPL Fantasy. Dream11 has reintroduced them in IPL Fantasy 2021. There will be a total of three boosters, each of them can be used only once. The boosters are:
1) Double Up: The most powerful of the three boosters, this one will allow players to double their total points from one match. It is best to use this booster for fixtures where plenty of players in the Fantasy Team are playing, as it involves the points getting doubled.
2) Super Transfers: This booster will allow players to make unlimited transfers to their teams for one match. Playing this booster at the end of the season will yield better returns, as the total number of transfers would be less at that time.
3) Triple-Impact: The least powerful of the three boosters, the Triple-Impact will allow players to get 3x points from their captain instead of the usual 2 x. Choosing the captain is a vital factor in IPL Fantasy. So playing this booster in a fixture where the captain has the most chance of success is best.
Now that we've got the new features out of the way, let's take a look at some basic requirements of a good IPL Fantasy team:
#1 Proper Team Balance
As mentioned in my previous articles, this is one of the most crucial requirements.
IPL Fantasy players need to select their team within the following framework:
1) Maximum seven players from one team
2) Four Overseas players
3) 1-4 Wicketkeepers, 3-6 Batsmen, 1-4 All-Rounders and 2-5 Bowlers.
Having the right team structure means striking a balance between the number of players in various positions.
It's best to have a minimum of three from each category (Batsmen/WK, All-Rounders, Bowlers) at all times. This way, you don't get locked while making your transfers due to an inadequate number of players per position.
Another key aspect to consider is the team balance. Very often, IPL Fantasy players tend to include a lot of players from the franchise they support.
In that case, it becomes difficult to get enough starters for the next fixture. It'll also lead to quicker consumption of the transfers. An ideal team balance would be a maximum of four players from any one IPL team.
#2 An even spread of funds
What I mean by this heading is that it must be easy to make transfers after every match and your funds shouldn't be locked in one part of your IPL Fantasy team.
Say, for example, you have included plenty of premium (players priced above ten credits) batsmen and wicketkeepers in your team. Now, whenever you need to bring in a premium all-rounder or bowler, you would have to make an extra transfer to release a premium wicketkeeper or batsman. Only then would you have the funds to obtain the particular player you want to bring.
Spreading your funds across your team means having at least one premium pick each in the Batsman/WK, All-rounder and the Bowler categories so that making transfers becomes easy.
#3 A good understanding of the fixtures
While the IPL schedule 2021 is fair for the most part, there are some busy fixture run-ins that IPL Fantasy players can target and use to their advantage.
For example, MI play four times in the first eleven days of the tournament. So by having more players from MI and holding them, one can minimise transfers and maximise their output during this period. Similarly, when a team has a break between their fixtures, IPL Fantasy players should transfer those players out to free up funds and valuable spots in their sides.
Finally, IPL Fantasy 20221 transfers should be made with the upcoming fixtures in mind and not just one particular game.