I understand that the first phase didn’t go well for some of you, and that includes me as well, but everyone was hard done by in one way or the other, courtesy of rain interruptions, Hamilton Maskadza and the unpredictable nature of associate cricket. More points don't mean you have necessarily played well either. Popular picks like Hong Kong’s Tanwir Afzal worked in the first game while showing why it was foolish to trust a player like him in the next two.
That’s over anyway. Let’s move on to the next phase now. With 20 transfers available for 10 Phase 2 games, you would do well to not look too far ahead while setting up the team now. I have basically concentrated only on the first two games, treating it as a bonus to the remaining 8, from where I will start using the transfers.
A mock-transfer in/transfer out activity left me with 5 transfers for the last 2 games – which I think is more than enough. Also my attempt at including a couple of West Indies players only led to serious budget issues, so I will wait for the Indian players to go out before getting them in.
My research team (imaginary, of course) has been working tirelessly behind the scenes, and here is what they want you to keep in mind before you restart your race. I have, here, directly attached the mail sent to me:
Hi Boss,
Here is what we have for you based on what you had asked us. Hope it is of help.
South Africa play twice in a span of three games, so that’s the shortest round where we can employ the Schedule Mantra. England play twice in four games, which makes them the second-best option. Apart from these, there are a couple of other teams that do the same in 5 games.
Pakistan have recalled Ahmed Shehzad, which is likely to have an effect on the fantasy potential of all their batsmen apart from Shehzad himself. Sarfaraz Ahmed’s promotion to No.4 has a lot to do with this as well.
If we are to go by what we have seen so far, apart from Nagpur where spinners are expected to have a field day, the remaining venues for the second phase will see lots of runs being scored. Just a heads-up, there have been conflicting reports about Nagpur too, with how ICC wants them to come up with a batting track. Isn’t BCCI > ICC though, boss? We might well ask that to Ravichandran Ashwin on Twitter.
Speaking of Ashwin, the Indian off-spinner has taken 1.75 wickets per T20I game in the last 8 months or so, with the next best being Jasprit Bumrah who has 1.36 wickets per game since his debut.
New Zealand coach Mike Hesson has made an interesting call demoting Ross Taylor to play the finisher’s role, but it remains to be seen if the Kiwis will stick to two left-handers at No.3 and No.4 with Ashwin now operating from overs 7 to 18.
Yuvraj Singh's impressive performances with the bat of late might mean Suresh Raina wouldn’t always come in at No.4.
Taskin Ahmed underwent testing on Monday after being reported for suspect action last week, and if the results turn out to be negative, which in all likelihood it will be, the pacer could receive suspension.
There is no word on our favourite Mustafizur Rahman yet.
Regards,
Smoak and Co.
For new readers, the term Schedule Mantra might raise a few eyebrows. Do read this article where I have explained it in detail: it’s one of the top fantasy game strategies.
India vs New Zealand
Captain – Rohit Sharma
A lot of our issues will be sorted out for this encounter if Sunil Gavaskar doesn’t turn up for the pitch report. The last time I saw him doing it, he gave three different pitch reports for three consecutive matches and the pitch played exactly the opposite way in every single one of them
Someone like Nick Knight, Ian Bishop or Simon Doull (if available) would be welcome. I am going in with the assumption that it’s the same deck we have so far seen.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are obvious picks irrespective of the deck and what happens at the toss. Looking at the numbers pulled up by my research team, Ravichandran Ashwin will have to be the next best bet.
Ideally speaking, Jasprit Bumrah’s numbers should be higher considering his death bowling skills, but of late MS Dhoni has been using him more up front than at the death, which has reduced his fantasy potential and in turn, improved Ashwin’s. Opposition batsmen now have no option but to try and be aggressive against the 29-year-old.
Kane Williamson wouldn’t look like a typical T20 batsman, but he averages 35+ in T20s. After Brendon McCullum’s retirement, he has been asked to open, which is an absolute masterstroke from Mike Hesson as he could get more value for his shots in powerplay. I can carry him to his next match, against Australia, so he gets in as well.
Bumrah gets in for budget reasons. The only other valuable alternative was Al-Amin Hossain, but if I get him in, I will have to carry him till the last match of this round, as against an Indian pacer who could be dropped after the Pakistan encounter. Bumrah tops Al-Amin skills-wise as well, and that he is playing for a clear favourite adds to his inclusion.
I would be surprised if Colin Munro makes a difference in this match, but his price, batting position, batting style, form and two game-value promise a lot. If he manages to fluke his way out against India, I fancy him going big in his next match. It could turn out to be an excellent differential, without taking any risks. On this same basis, Martin Guptill becomes an equally good pick, but his price ain’t too low.
It's a straight shoot-out between Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina. I am a sucker for players batting higher up the order, so Dhawan appeals more to me. Also if Rohit and Kohli do the bulk of the scoring, Raina will have little to do. Kiwis are too smart to not unleash Adam Milne’s extra pace at him.
Pakistan vs Bangladesh
Captain – Mohammad Amir (if Pak bowl first)/ Tamim Iqbal (If Pak bat first)
2 good bowling attacks. 2 average batting units. I am expecting a 160 plays 160 here. Tamim Iqbal in the form that he is in is a no-brainer. It is reasonable to think Pakistan’s bowling attack will be too hot for him to handle, but PSL is basically made up of the same bowlers, and Iqbal bossed the entire tournament. This is not the time to get too smart, maybe?
The one advantage with captains like Shahid Afridi is they are too easy to predict: Amir has the same pattern – two overs up front, two overs at the death. There can be no good reason to leave him out, as against Mohammad Irfan or Wahab Riaz who will get a maximum of 1 over at the death,
Ahmed Shehzad at 70K is a steal given his form. I have never rated Shehzad actually, but his PSL exploits indicate he might have turned a corner. I didn’t watch him bat though, just going by some of his knocks there. In addition to these factors, he is coming back after an axe; while batsmen playing for their place can cost teams the match, I have no reasons to complain from the fantasy point of view.
Shakib doesn’t usually deliver against good bowling attacks, and his spin should be comfortably negotiated by Pakistan’s middle order. Too expensive to take in as well. That point of Smoak about how Shehzad and Sarfaraz could end up reducing the fantasy potential of the Pakistan batting order, it actually means Hafeez getting demoted to No.3, Shoaib Malik to a possible No.6, with Pakistan interested in Umar Akmal playing higher up the order.
I would have normally gone for Taskin, but his likely suspension keeps me away from it. Sabbir Rahman wouldn’t bother me much even if he comes off.
Add-on: Apart from these, I have taken in Johnston Charles as a combination-cum-budget pick. Charles has some ridiculous hitting power, opens the batting and could turn out to be interesting with West Indies playing two weak bowling attacks on true batting decks.
This might seem a bit heavy on first two matches, but don’t worry: you’ll be fine.
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