10 transfers for 3 matches might look too much, but considering the venues, you might need two completely different set of players for the second semi-final and final. I wouldn’t, therefore, advise you to be way too aggressive with the first match. If the 50-50 picks you choose don’t click, you risk losing out on a lot of points.
England vs New Zealand
Captain – Martin Guptill/Joe Root
The deck in Delhi might play a little slow, but in general, it has been good for batting, which makes Joe Root, Jos Buttler and Martin Guptill obvious picks. Kane Williamson showed signs of what he could do in the last match against Bangladesh, and if he can carry that form forward, I would fancy his chances against a weak England bowling attack.
Colin Munro, Ross Taylor (if he bats at 4), Corey Anderson, Jason Roy and Eoin Morgan – all of them have the potential to play a match-defining innings, but it’s quite impossible to say who will do well on a given day. Since Morgan and Taylor could bat as low as No.5, it isn’t worth gambling on them.
Roy has showed decent form throughout the tournament, but his limitations against spin mean he hasn’t been able to make it count. Munro, on the other hand, comes into the game after having played an uncharacteristically responsible innings against Bangladesh on a really difficult wicket.
The big-hitting southpaw was pretty tight in defence in the early part of his innings and when he decided to step up, some of the shots that he played showed how much damage he can cause on a good wicket.
Both Roy and Munro bat in top 3 and help with your budget – enough reason to have at least one of them in your team. I am going with Munro, as Roy can be strangled by spinners both inside and outside the powerplay.
Despite his below-par performances, Anderson gets in for his all-round skills. All I need is for him to bat at 4, which will provide a minimum guarantee of 50-odd points. Ben Stokes bats too low. Alex Hales hasn’t done anything so far to warrant a pick, and he has two in-form spinners to deal with.
I need a couple of bowlers to complete my team. The form that they are in and the England players’ weaknesses against spin force the inclusion of Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner. Mitchell McClenaghan is the only other option worth considering, but I would stick to my rule of not overdoing bowlers.
With the next match between India and West Indies, Andre Russell and Dwayne Bravo are self-explanatory. Jasprit Bumrah might raise a few eyebrows, but I need a few calculated differentials at this point – the Indian speedster has been bowling exceptionally well at the death that his wickets can’t be far away.
India vs West Indies
Transfers made – 6; Transfers left – 4
Martin Guptill out – Virat Kohli in
Kane Williamson out – Chris Gayle in
Colin Munro out – Rohit Sharma in
Corey Anderson out – Johnston Charles in (combination pick)
Joe Root out – Shikhar Dhawan (A) in/ Hardik Pandya (B) in
Jos Buttler out – Pawan Negi (A) in/ Lendl Simmons or Jason Roy (B) in
I didn't pick 6 Kiwi players in my team because I thought New Zealand were going to win. It was always going to be an evenly-matched encounter, more so with England’s decision to bowl first. I just picked the best players available. What makes this match difficult is the prices of India-West Indies players, and not the England win.
Now, coming to this match, with Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo and Jasprit Bumrah already in my team, the other players who interest me are Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Hardik Pandya. I am going by what I have seen so far, which is Mumbai being an absolute road. It should be the same today as well, unless India doctor the pitch again.
Kohli and Gayle need no explanations. Rohit Sharma's performances have a lot to do with the kind of decks he has been playing on so far. It would make little sense to leave him out at Wankhede and against a weak West Indies bowling line-up. That’s a gamble not worth taking, especially with India being the favourites to qualify for the final.
That I have even mentioned Dhawan here will be bizarre for most of you; it’s true that he has a lot of technical issues, but all of them surface when the deck either assists seam or spin or when the bowlers are super-quick to bounce him out. In this case, Wankhede won’t be doing any of it and the Windies don’t really have a pace bowler to bounce the left-hander out, except maybe Russell.
If you take Dhawan, the only player who fits into your team will be Pawan Negi (there are rumours about Dhoni preferring him over Manish Pandey and Ajinkya Rahane). Negi will have to lucky here to pick up wickets, but at Kolkata he will surely be worth it.
Johnston Charles gets in for combination-cum-budget issues. He is coming into this match on the back of a decent couple of knocks on really difficult wickets; with a bit of fortune by his side, I could expect a half-century from him on this deck.
Plan B (Hardik Pandya and Lendl Simmons/Jason Roy in)
If Negi doesn’t play, my Plan B is to take Hardik Pandya and one of Lendl Simmons and Jason Roy. Dhoni seems to prefer Pandya bowling his entire quota on a flat deck, which more often than not guarantees him a couple of wickets, and if he gets promoted up the order, he is capable of doing serious damage to spinners and inaccurate medium pace bowlers. With Wankhede being flat and the Indian batting order shaky, Pandya could give you good returns.
Simmons is most likely to bat No.3 in place of the injured Andre Fletcher. You will just have to hope an early wicket falls for him to deliver. What keeps me away from Roy is the possiblity of Eden Gardens being a slow, low wicket, which he doesn’t enjoy playing on.
I know I have transferred out Jos Buttler and Joe Root, but that’s the only way of doing it without compromising on things. With Kolkata expected to turn, I don't see the need for more than 4 substitutions.
Some of the other choices you can consider include Manish Pandey and Ajinkya Rahane. Pandey is not a typical No.5, so he needs enough deliveries to make an impact, while Rahane needs to open.
West Indies vs England
Transfers made – 4; Transfers left – 0
Ajinkya Rahane out – Jason Roy in (’turner’ replacement – Adil Rashid)
Virat Kohli out – Joe Root in
Rohit Sharma out – Jos Buttler in
Hardik Pandya out – Ben Stokes in (’turner’ replacement – Samuel Badree)
Captain – Chris Gayle
Note: I had got in Ainkya Rahane instead of Lendl Simmons, as Rahane looked more certain to score points opening the innings.
Reports suggest that it will be a high-scoring deck at Kolkata today, and it’s understandable as India aren't playing the game. If that’s indeed the case, with Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo and Johnston Charles already in my team, the only other players who interest me are Jason Roy, Joe Root, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Lendl Simmons.
Root and Buttler are straightforward picks – in great form and have a great potential as well. While Roy does have weaknesses against spin, the nature of the deck could nullify it, so he gets in too. The tricky part is between Simmons and Stokes. Stokes has now cemented his place as one of England’s two go-to death bowlers, so that more often than not guarantees him a couple of wickets. If he gets some 20 deliveries to bat, you can expect great returns.
Simmons would have been a better choice if he opens the innings. But at No.4, he needs a lot of things to go his way, which is not wise to count on. Eden Gardens is a bigger ground as well; you can't just turn up and start hitting sixes.
I am going with Gayle as my captain. It's true that he hasn’t quite come off since that knock against England, but that’s what makes it more dangerous to opt against him. There are threats, but not to an extent that drives you away from backing him: Willey swings the new ball, but he doesn’t have the pace; Plunkett has the pace, but not skillful enough to get it full and swinging like Kagiso Rabada and Jasprit Bumrah did; and Chris Jordan is unpredictable.
If you are not prepared to take the risk, you could go with Russell as captain, as he seems to come in ahead of Bravo in the batting order.
