IPL 2014: Fantasy Guru - Sharjah calls for big hitters

Guru’s team after the KKR vs. KXIP fixture

Delhi Daredevils vs. Mumbai Indians:

Last Delhi Daredevils match was a perfect example of why I wanted JP Duminy out. Not only do the cricket teams end up paying for such a woeful tactic, but the fantasy teams which depend on such uncertain picks do, too. As it is unclear whether Kevin Pietersen would have learnt from that defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad that keeping a batsman of Duminy’s class that low down the order isn’t ideal, I am not entertaining the thought of picking him, again. Teams rarely change on such quick notice; look at Royal Challengers Bangalore and AB de Villiers.

Kevin Pietersen at No. 3 – A show of intent:

Kevin Pietersen, although took some time to get off the mark, played a couple of good shots that interest me. Moreover, the fact that he came in at number 3 signals what kind of a role he has in his mind for him this year. In addition to all these, the match is being played at Sharjah – a flat bed with shorter boundaries – and Pietersen has mastered the art of playing Lasith Malinga, the only threat from the opposition.

There is absolutely no reason as to why I should not pick him except for the fact that Delhi Daredevils next play after a span of 6 matches, which means he has to be transferred out after this match.

Is it a gamble worth taking? I would still say, yes! Come in, KP!

Mumbai – Need Rayudu at the top:

Guru’s team for the MI vs. DD fixture

Transfers made – 1; Transfers remaining – 56

Captain – Rohit SharmaKevin Pietersen in – Sunil Narine outIshwar Pandey in – Manish Pandey out (uncapped player trick to accommodate Pietersen)

As far as the Mumbai side of it is concerned, I have 3 of them – Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard – already in my team. While promoting Corey Anderson for this match would make sense and come off at the same time – considering the fact that it is good deck to bat on and Daredevils have only one mainstream spinner who is a leftie which makes it all that easy – doing the same in the match against Chennai Super Kings hardly did: Ambati Rayudu at No. 3/4 would have taken both Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to cleaners.

For my fantasy team’s sake, I hope that they revert to Rayudu at top 4; else, I would have change the base of my team, which would cost a couple of more transfers than what I ideally would like to employ.

Sorry Slinga, not now either:

Unlike last match where I was very sure of keeping Lasith Malinga out, I am in a bit of fix when it comes to this fixture. While Pietersen and Duminy will handle him with ease, the likes of Dinesh Karthik, Quinton De Kock and Murali Vijay – although capable of doing it under a no-pressure situation – will crumble when forced to attack him. I would like to take a risk here and continue to keep Malinga out, as Mumbai next play only after a span of 4 matches.

Uncapped player:

Shahbaz Nadeem, Jasprit Bumrah on a flat deck and CM Gautam at 7 – all don’t make the cut. That leaves us with Aditya Tare, who has a great potential to deliver in this fixture against a Delhi Daredevils attack minus Nathan Coulter-Nile.

Unfortunately though, the choice, to me, comes between Tare and Pietersen as a result of combination issues. So I have decided to sacrifice Tare; since Nadeem will get carted, I employ the uncapped player trick again by bringing in Ishwar Pandey from the next match. Only a marginal improvement, but at least there is scope in Sharjah with the new ball.

Sunrisers Hyderabad vs. Chennai Super Kings

Guru’s team for the CSK vs. SRH match

Transfers made – 2; Transfers remaining – 54

Captain – Suresh RainaBrendon McCullum in – Kieron Pollard outAaron Finch in – Kevin Pietersen outSandeep Sharma in – Yuzvendra Chahal out (ploy to have both Chahal and Sandeep in for the next match, as Ishwar Pandey is already in for this fixture)

No bowler generally makes a Sharjah limited overs fixture unless and until it is one of the four – Sunil Narine, Lasith Malinga, Saeed Ajmal and Umar Gul. That restriction goes further down when you consider a match that features the likes of Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Aaron Finch, David Warner, Faf du Plessis and Darren Sammy in it.

How would you then pick the batsmen for this fixture?

I already have two of them in my team: Raina and Sammy. Sammy either hasn’t fired or got a chance to bat, which is unfortunate.

I have a lot of faith in him, as he has been a demon when it comes to big hitting in the last one and a half years and is the linchpin of this Hyderabad team in the absence of Thisara Perera. So I would wait for two more fixtures to decide on whether or not to throw him out of my team.

My reservations in including Faf du Plessis and MS Dhoni have already been recorded in my previous articles. I am not yet entirely convinced with what I see from Dhawan, and it is impossible to predict who among Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith will come off: it could be none of them, one of them, or both of them.

I go with McCullum again, as he has the ability to hit it 360 degrees and disturb the length of the pacers by coming down the track.

However, you can almost always choose between Finch and Warner. For this fixture, since Warner has the threat of Ravichandran Ashwin’s off-spin, I have opted to go with Finch.

Uncapped player pick:

Not much of a difference between Karan Sharma and Ishwar Pandey. On a good batting wicket, they could both find it difficult to provide breakthroughs. Pandey, though, has the advantage of bowling with the new ball and against a comparatively weak batting unit, which shifts the attention towards him.

The only threat to Lokesh Rahul is the possibility of top 3 batting long enough for Sammy to be promoted to number 4, one which I am not ready to risk it.

Kings X1 Punjab vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore

Guru’s team for the KXIP vs. RCB match

Transfers made – 1; Transfers remaining – 53

Captain – Virat Kohli or Glenn MaxwellDavid Miller in – Brendon McCullum outYuzvendra Chahal in – Ishwar Pandey out

With Glenn Maxwell and Virat Kohli already in my team, the only other player of any interest in this match is David Miller. Chahal stands in the way of him succeeding, though.

Miller at No. 4 is a top class move, as it gives him plenty of time to make a mark. Although it comes at a cost of wasting George Bailey for Kings X1 Punjab, it hardly matters to us fantasy players. With the likes of Virender Sehwag and Cheteshwar Pujara almost always likely to get out early and Maxwell’s mad approach to the game, I see Miller as a must-have on an afternoon Dubai pitch.

The Dubai Deck:

One needs to understand that the Dubai pitch is slow and not a turner. When you have the ability to pack a punch, it doesn’t matter on slow pitches as against in a turner where you will still get beaten with the amount of turn on offer. It just needs a bit more of application, and I trust Miller to do it. Moreover, RCB’s strength is pace: Mitchell Starc and Varun Aaron. On a slow pitch, that is exactly what a batsman needs. Ashok Dinda isn’t actually as bad as he is being portrayed, but he is even worse when it comes to left-handers. Miller is a left-hander; ominous signs for RCB.

Chris Gayle, you better not play:

If he plays, Chris Gayle should walk into the team. There are no real threats from the bowling side as well as from the pitch, and the only spinner that the Punjab-based franchise has is Akshar Patel, a left-arm off-spinner.

No matter how good a left-arm spinner you are, you don’t stand a chance against Gayle.

Uncapped player:

Yuzvendra Chahal makes the cut as the uncapped player. Akshar Patel has been impressive, but he is most likely to bowl to two class batsmen in Kohli and AB de Villiers and two left-handers in Parthiv Patel and Yuvraj Singh. Although I don’t expect much from him, he is already in my team which gives me no choice but to stick with him.

Captain:

The only reason I opt for Kohli over Maxwell is certainty. I believe in going with captains who guarantee something than gambling on someone who could go either way.

That is it for today, and haven’t you joined Guru’s official IPL Fantasy league, yet?

League name – FantasyMattersLeague code – 59270