The Caribbean Brahmastra is off to a pretty good start despite achieving only half its potential, with no wickets for Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell in their last couple of overs (something that doesn’t happen very often) and Andre Fletcher getting run out while looking dangerous. I am tired of all these atrocities to my fantasy team, but that’s the nature of the beast. You have no option but to keep moving on.
I have decided to hold back my transfers a little for these couple of games, with my team being in the middle of two of my most aggressive strategies this phase – the Bangladesh rush and the West Indies powerdose.
Bangladesh vs New Zealand
Transfers made – 1 (0); Transfers remaining – 8 (9)
Imran Tahir out – Martin Guptill in (flat deck)/ Mitchell Santner in (turner)
Captain – Shakib Al Hasan
With four Bangladesh players already in my team (Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman and Sabbir Rahman), I only have to look at the Kiwis for this encounter. Martin Guptill, Corey Anderson, Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi are easily the top 4 New Zealand picks for the game. In order to choose between them, you will have to know about the pitch. Currently there is little idea of what Kolkata could dish out, as we have seen two different types of decks so far – a turner and a high-scoring surface.
If it is expected to turn, go with Santner ahead of Sodhi, as Santner can bat as well. If it isn’t, Guptill is a better bet than Anderson, who has struggled to get going with the bat and could be cut off with the ball.
Unless I see a flat deck here, I won’t get any New Zealand players into my team, as I see much better scoring options in the upcoming games. The Kiwi batsmen don’t enjoy playing on slow, low surfaces, so only Sodhi and Santner can hurt my team for not having them. I would, however, gladly take a couple of wickets hit, which makes the gamble worth it.
Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman would be my two top Bangladesh picks; with some assistance from the deck, Tamim Iqbal and Sabbir Rahman can help themselves to some points as well.
Sri Lanka vs England
Transfers made – 3; Transfers remaining – 6 (5)
Tamim Iqbal out – Joe Root in
Mustafizur Rahman out – Tillakaratne Dilshan in
Shakib Al Hasan out – Jeffrey Vandersay in
Delhi could be mistaken for being a low-scoring surface after the first match played there, between England vs Afghanistan; it’s in fact far from it. The deck is a little slow, yes, but the ball doesn’t turn much, which negates a lot of issues for batsmen. I am expecting a 160 plays 160 here.
Joe Root, Jos Buttler, Adil Rashid, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Jeffrey Vandersay and Dushmantha Chameera – These 6 players would be my top picks for the game. Since I can’t get all of them into my team for obvious reasons, I will have to resort to elimination process.
Chameera, despite bowling the most crucial overs of the game, hasn’t managed to get any wickets, and England play pace bowling well – that’s enough reason for taking a gamble on him – ruled out.
Rashid could get a couple of wickets at best, and if Sri Lanka play to their potential, it could be nullified as well – ruled out.
Despite his no-shows so far, I fancy Buttler to be amongst the runs today if England bat first. However, if England chase, I wouldn’t have him in my team. His potential while chasing will depend on a number of factors, which I don’t want to bank on at this stage of the game.
Root and Dilshan are automatic picks given their respective roles for their teams. Dilshan, in particular, fits into Schedule Mantra as well. Leg-spinner Vandersay was pretty impressive in his first game of the tournament, and with his next two fixtures against teams that don’t play slow bowling all that well, I see him getting a total of 4 wickets.
Dilshan would be my captain for this game, as there is a good chance he could bowl, with the number of left-handers in the England middle order.
Afghanistan vs West Indies (updated at 12.10 PM, March 27)
Transfers made – 1; Transfers left – 5
Joe Root out – Mohammad Nabi in (if Afghanistan bat first)/ Rashid Khan in (if Afghanistan bowl first)
Captain – Dwayne Bravo (if West Indies bowl first)/ Andre Russell (if West Indies bat first)
Note: As mentioned in this article, I didn’t bring Santner into my team, so I have 6 transfers left for the last 3 matches.
I don’t see the need for any other West Indian players in my team, with 5 of them already in. Here is hoping none of them gets rested, though. The wicket at Nagpur has been slow right through, but with the intervention of the ICC, it isn’t a raging turner anymore like it was in the India-New Zealand match.
The size of the ground makes it really difficult for batsmen to clear the boundaries, so I expect the likes of Mohammad Nabi, Samiullah Shenwari and Rashid Khan – with their all-round skills – to be amongst the points, especially if Afghanistan bowl first. Nabi appears the safest option, but there is a good chance he might be used aggressively to counter Chris Gayle and, in the process, finish up with not many wickets to his name. His returns with the bat in the second round have been pretty poor too.
Rashid, on the other hand, usually comes late into the attack and could easily get away with a couple of wickets. As witnessed in the last match, he can bat as well, but I am not sure if he will be promoted again.
Shenwari, although is the second-best Afghanistan batsman by potential and form at the moment, doesn’t offer the same threat as bowler, so isn’t as attractive as the other two.
If Afghanistan bat first, I will go with Nabi, as they won’t score much and an aggressive option would help in such scenarios. If they bowl first though, I will go with Rashid.
Picking the right captain could be tricky for this game, so I have decided to play safe taking into account the nature of the pitch.
The article for the remaining two league matches will be out soon.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
