CLT20 2014: Fantasy Guru - Setting the stage up

Getting the team combination right for the first couple of matches can be tricky, with teams trying to fit in their international stars and replace the ones who have been ruled out at the last minute for different reasons. As a result, picking somebody like a Kane Williamson or a Kieron Pollard will have its risks attached to it; they are likely to bat out of their usual position, which could go either way.

One factor that will have a telling impact on how our picks fare, as I have always believed in, is how the tracks play. With Raipur hosting all the 6 qualifier matches and the tournament-main fixtures distributed between three venues that even an average Indian fan will be well versed of – Mohali, Hyderabad, Bangalore, this tournament wouldn’t be a nightmare for us fantasy managers as the last edition of the Indian Premier League (2014) turned out to be with its constant change in venues.

First things first, what does Raipur have on store? Not many top level matches have been played here; in IPL 2013, it played host to two of Delhi Daredevils’ home matches, despite being 1000 kilometres away from the city. Weird are the ways of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

If those matches are anything to go by, the overseas teams can breathe a huge sigh of relief. While the boundaries are bigger for a Twenty20 match, the pitch doesn’t really have anything in it for the spinners. In those two aforementioned fixtures, the left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem returned figures of 4-1-23-1 and 4-0-30-0, while Rajat Bhatia went for 21 from his 2 overs. Sunil Narine couldn’t pick up a wicket, while Lakshmipathy Balaji conceded 35 in his 4 overs. Enough in these numbers to believe what we could expect tomorrow, unless the deck has changed since then.

Not yet convinced? David Warner scored a 42-ball 66 and a 25-ball 51, coming in at No. 4.

Guru’s team for the first two fixtures

Note: Daniel Harris and Praveen Kumar could be left out; if so, replace them with Ahmed Shehzad and Shreyas Gopal

Northern Knights

The Kane Williamson conundrum

Although Williamson is not known for his aggressive style, he had a relatively successful World Cup T20 2014 campaign, scoring 146 runs in 4 matches at an average of 48.66 and a strike-rate of 124.78. Notching up scores of 51, 42, 24*, 29, his approach showed that he was beginning to adapt himself to the fast-paced formats of the game. Not just that, his performances earlier this year against India where he scored 361 runs in 5 matches at an SR of 85.54 also prove his coming of age as a cricketer. The credit has to be given to the team management that paved way for it by promoting him to the opening role: a masterstroke of a move that will benefit the team for years to come.

The fielding restrictions in the Powerplay overs help Willamson-type batsmen thrive, with their shots yielding maximum benefits. A cover drive or a square cut, which these batsmen depend more on than the slogs, goes for a boundary as compared to a double at best with 4-5 fielders outside the 30-yard circle. Also, it helps them settle; by the time they need to accelerate, they would have gauged the nature of the deck and play according to the demands. Hashim Amla’s success in the same edition of the T20 World Cup can be attributed to it, as well.

Will Northern Knights play him as an opener, though? In the 3 matches that he played for them in the 2013/14 season, Willamson has batted at positions 4 (twice) and 6. The demotion to No. 6 was because of the 2nd wicket falling in the 15th over, leading to the promotion of sloggers. With the Knights’ top order consisting of the likes of Daniel Flynn, Brad Wilson, Anton Devcich and Daniel Harris, I don’t see him batting in the top 3, leave alone as an opener. Among these four, Devcich, a slow left-arm orthodox, is a regular with the ball, as well.

I would pick Harris out of the 3, as he has had some real good exposure with the number of T20 teams he has been playing for, of late. 1926 runs at an average of 30 in 74 T20 matches at a strike rate of 126.96 speaks for itself.

Coming back to the Williamson scenario, with the 24-year-old now banned from bowling, it makes his selection even more complicated. However, it is difficult to see the Knights getting through the Southern Express’ spinners without the diminutive right-hander being involved, even on an easy-paced deck; therefore, I would like to try my luck here and hope that the first two wickets fall in quick succession.

Their playing 11 could read: Anton Devcich, Brad Wilson, Daniel Harris, Kane Williamson, Scott Styris, Daryl Mitchell, BJ Watling, Tim Southee, Jono Boult, Trent Boult, Ish Sodhi

A choice has to be made between Scott Styris and Daryl Mitchell, the Knights’ finishers. Looking at the matches, there seems to be no real method as to who gets promoted. One factor that makes Styris a better bet is that he is likely to contribute with the ball, as well. BJ Watling wouldn’t have much of a role in this line-up.

As far as the bowling department is concerned, Trent Boult and Tim Southee are automatic choices. I would like to go with Boult, more because of him being a left-armer and the more aggressive of the two. I don’t see Ish Sodhi and Jono Boult having much of a say in how the match turns out to be.

Preference order

Trent Boult

Kane Willamson

Daniel Harris

Scott Styris

Anton Devcich

Tim Southee

Southern Express

The team in itself has played a total of 5 matches, so there is nothing much to look at it here. Kusal Perera, the Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batsman, is an obvious pick, despite the Boult-threat looming large. If he escapes Boult, then, on his deck, he could be menacing. Jehan Mubarak isn’t someone who will take the attack to the opposition; what makes him attractive, though, is that he will bat in the top 3 and doesn’t take many risks: an easy 40-ball 45 there for the taking.

While Farveez Maharoof is a long shot with him batting so low down the order and not really a dependable option with the ball, the spin trio of Dilruwan Perera, Sachith Pathirana and Seekkuge Prasanna could come in handy. That which one of the 3 will be amongst the wickets is anyone’s call; I would go with Pathirana, as he is a left-arm spinner, gets his full quota more often than not and the first fixture has a lot of right-handers for him to prey on.

Preference order

Kushal Perera

Jehan Mubarak

Sachith Pathirana

Dilruwan Perera

Seekkuge Prasanna

Lahore Lions

Mohammad Hafeez

Picking Mohammad Hafeez is a no-brainer: plays on familiar conditions, no Dale Steyn in the opposition line-up, bats at no.3 and bowls his full quota more often than not. There are mixed signals from the Lions’ unit about how they would use Umar Akmal. He has both been employed as a No. 4 and a No. 6. At No. 6, he isn’t making it to my team; not just Umar, anyone batting at no. 6 and isn’t going to turn his arm over wouldn’t make it, even if it is AB de Villiers.

It is outrageous to see a player of such quality being used that way; given his style of play, which is highly risky, I would like to take the risk and keep him out, hoping that even if he comes in to bat at two down, he fails. With a top 3 of Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez, the Lions’ management have so far been inclined to reserve the younger Akmal for the finishing role, understandable with the brand of cricket being played these days.

Umar Siddiq and Saad Nasim, two unknown commodities, bat at No. 4 and No. 5 for the team. With the quality of batsmen from Pakistan we see these days, I don’t really think they will have something to offer. Nasim has only 323 runs to his name in 30 matches at a strike-rate of 111.76, while Sddiq has played only 4 T20 innings to look too much into his records.

As far as the bowling side of it is concerned, there are no real standout options. While Wahab Riaz has two modes – exceptional and dreadful, Aizaz Cheema is, at best, steady. If I have to go with one of the two, I will go with Cheema. Getting one of them in for the first fixture wouldn’t be a bad idea, as Mumbai Indians’ batting order, sans Rohit Sharma and Michael Hussey, can never be ruled out from a collapse. Adnan Rasool is an orthodox off-spinner with not much mystery about him; that he is 33 years old without a single international cap to his name doesn't induce confidence.

Preference order

Mohammad Hafeez

Ahmed Shehzad

Aizaz Cheema

Wahab Riaz

Umar Akmal

Nasir Jamshed

Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians are not just hit with the injury to Rohit, but the return of Lasith Malinga means they will have to drop Hussey, who ended IPL 7 in top form. To make it worse, they have exactly 6 batsmen in the squad, which includes Aditya Tare and Sushant Marathe.

Marathe, a 28-year-old Mumbai local, has only played 8 T20 matches in his career. Their line up should read: Lendl Simmons, Aditya Tare, Corey Anderson, Ambati Rayudu, Kieron Pollard, Sushant Marathe, Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga, Praveen Kumar/Shreyas Gopal, Jasprit Bumrah, Pragyan Ojha.

Malinga walks into any international limited overs team any day of the week as long as he can run up and bowl, so my fantasy team is no exception. While Lendl Simmons had a disappointing series against Bangladesh, scoring 0, 40 and 6 in his three One Day International matches, he did complete the Caribbean Premier League 2014 season as the leading run-getter – 446 runs in 11 matches at a strike-rate of 128.90 and an average of 49.55, which is enough to warrant him a selection.

Batting higher up the order and capable of bowling 2 overs at the least, Anderson would have ideally made the cut, too; however, I choose to leave him out for this fixture, as he will be up against two off-spinners in Hafeez and Rasool. Overseas lefties against bowlers turning away from them on alien conditions is what you call as a recipe for disaster. Even if those two fail to snare him, not like the support cast of the Lions are any worse: Cheema and Riaz are more than capable, as well.

With no budget concerns faced so far, there is no reason why Rayudu should be considered, while using both Tare and Marathe ahead of Pollard could reduce the impact that the big West Indian can have both on the match and from the fantasy perspective. Out of Praveen Kumar and Gopal, whoever makes the playing 11 will make it into my team, too, as Pakistan batsmen are suspect against both quality swing and leg-spin.

Harbhajan Singh bowled as good as I have ever seen him in the last edition of the IPL, but, with the number of right handers in the lions line-up, he will find it difficult to be amongst the wickets. That he only had 14 wickets from 14 matches in what was arguably his best IPL season only adds value to my theory. The very fact that he bowls in the safest of passages in a T20 match (read: 6th over – 16th over) means the batsmen are less likely to go after him.

Preference order:

Lasith Malinga

Lendl Simmons

Praveen Kumar/Shreyas Gopal

Kieron Pollard

Corey Anderson

Ambati Rayudu

Captaincy picks

1st fixture: The safest of them all is Boult, as he is most likely to bag a couple of wickets and not concede too much, against a domestic line-up. Kushal could come off big time if he manages to escape the first 4 overs. While Williamson could be amongst runs, there are decent chances of him not getting to bat at all or batting at a time where he would have to accelerate more, which wouldn’t suit his brand of play. Captaincy, to me, has always been about certainty, so I would go with the Kiwi pacer.

2nd fixture: Hafeez or Malinga, both could give a plenty of points. I would go with the Pakistan all-rounder, as he has something to offer both with the bat and the ball. Simmons could turn out to be all or nothing, not someone who I would risk with when I have such safe options.