IPL 2018: Top Fantasy League batting picks in each of the 8 Franchises

Indian Premier League's 11th edition is set to start in a week's time and fans would be getting ready to pick the players in their fantasy teams. The Fantasy Leagues have become extremely popular these days as it gives every fan a chance to select his own team.

Fantasy League is an extremely interesting game with millions across the world playing. The fantasy league players often depend a lot on batsmen to score points in games so let's have a look at which batsmen could earn you maximum points.

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Royal Challengers Bangalore: Quinton De Kock & Virat Kohli

Royal Challengers Bangalore will be playing a majority of their cricket on the Chinnaswamy wicket. After the mishap of 2017, one can safely assume that this year the wicket will be similar to the one that was used in the previous years

De Kock would be the best choice to start the tournament as he has the power to play the big shots and the small Chinnaswamy stadium will be an added advantage for him. He has a better strike rate than Kohli and he would also bat at one position higher than Kohli which would help him to get some extra runs.

Kohli is definitely a top pick in any format on any conditions. The only problem this year could be the fact that he would most probably not open the batting to accommodate McCullum and De Kock and therefore one cannot expect centuries from Kohli. He can be used as a safe bet to get some points after De Kock has got one enough points

Chennai Super Kings: Shane Watson & Suresh Raina

Raina will be the most dependable choice in CSK

Chennai Super Kings will be returning back to the Indian Premier League after a gap of two years and they will be playing a majority of their cricket in the slow turning wickets of MA Chidambaram.

Watson will most probably open the batting for CSK this year and with that being the case he will be a great pick in any fantasy league team. He has the ability to play the big innings and has a good record in Chepauk. Watson if he doesn't open then he wouldn't be a good choice and Raina should be preferred then.

Raina is a choice which could be executed as a safe bet as he is the only player to have scored atleast 350 runs in all the 10 seasons of IPL. There is always a guarantee of a minimum amount of fantasy points with Raina and he will be a popular pick this year as well

Mumbai Indians: Ishan Kishan & Rohit Sharma

Lewis will be playing his first IPL this year

Mumbai Indians will be playing their home matches on the flat decks of Wankhade and it is always wise to choose the opening batsmen in the fantasy league teams. The team doesn't have a great opening combination when it comes to consistency and dependability.

Evin Lewis is an explosive hitter at the top and the flat pitch at the Wankhede will ideally suit his type of batting and one can expect an explosive start to IPL this year with Evin Lewis scoring in the very first game of IPL.

Lewis is untested in spinning conditions and hence it would be advisable to select him on the flat decks of Wankhede and Chinnasamy and avoid him on spinning pitches like Chepauk and Feroz Shah Kotla in favor of Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma is a definite pick in the Fantasy League team even if he was the play at the number 3 spot. He is another safe bet in the league and depending on the person's risk-taking interest one can choose Kishan or Rohit in the team

Kings XI Punjab: Chris Gayle & Aaron Finch (KXIP)

Gayle will be

the darkhorse

in this year's IPL

Kings XI Punjab will play their home matches on the flat wickets of Mohali and Indore. The side is filled with star batsmen and it is better to pick batsmen from the side in your fantasy teams.

Chris Gayle will not be an option which many would go for this time due to his 2017 performance but he has the ability to get you maximum points on conditions which suit his batting. Mohali and Indore will suit his batting and Finch's absence for the first two games make Gayle a certainty in the playing XI.

Aaron Finch is more of a safe bet in a fantasy team. He is the only player who is assured of a place in the top 3 of the Kings XI batting line-up and he can be expected to steadily accumulate runs and earn points in the fantasy league.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Shikhar Dhawan

Dhawan will be the key batsman for SRH this year

Sunrisers Hyderabad is the most well-rounded unit in the Indian Premier League. The team has some great batsman and has the best bowling line-up in the entire league. The team may well emerge as the champions of 2018 IPL.

Dhawan has been in terrific form in the last 12 months and he has been heaping fifties after fifties for the Indian team. His brilliant run can be expected to continue in the Indian Premier League as well.

Dhawan has been in a rich vein of form lately, with great performances on the tour of South Africa in both ODIs and T20s and then going on to finish as India's highest run-getter in the recently concluded Nidahas Trophy. With this sort of form, Dhawan is a no-brainer to be a part of any Fantasy team.

Rajasthan Royals: Ajinkya Rahane

Rahane is a consistent player and will be a great fantasy pick

Rajasthan Royals is the second team which is making a comeback into the Indian Premier League this year. The team has brought back Shane Warne who was the captain of the Championship winning side as the coach this year.

Rahane was bought by the Rajasthan Royals using the Right to Match card because of what he brings to the team. He has been a great player for the Rajasthan side at the top of the order.

The opener is a consistent player who scores more than 400 runs in a season regularly. He will, therefore, be a safe bet in the fantasy team

Delhi Daredevils: Colin Munro & Shreyas Iyer

Munro's unorthodox batting will complement Gambhir's textbook batting

Colin Munro is one of the most explosive openers in the Indian Premier League this year. He has the ability to play the big shots and is capable of scoring centuries in a T20 game. He would be a great pick to start the tournament.

Munro has scored 3 centuries in T20 International for the New Zealand team and this stat is an indication of his capability. Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi would assist spinners and the Kiwi batsmen are usually ineffective against spinners but Munro has shown in the last India tour that he has the ability to tackle spinners when he scored a century in a T20 match against India last year.

Shreyas Iyer would be more of a long-term option as he bats at one down and is also more of a consistent batsman who would score the fifties regularly rather than scoring centuries once in a while.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Chris Lynn & Robin Uthappa

Lynn's strike rate is his biggest asset

Chris Lynn is another explosive opener who is a great player to have in a fantasy team. He is both consistent and explosive at the same time which is a potent combination to have for any batsman.

Lynn has the ability to score centuries in a regular manner in T20s because of his high strike rate. He has all the shots in the book and has an enormous amount of power to clear any stadium in the world. The only problem with Lynn is the ever prevailing fitness concern with him.

Robin Uthappa is the safe pick from Kolkata Knight Riders side. He is a player who has consistently scored above 400 runs in almost all the seasons and with the extra responsibility of vice-captaincy one can surely expect him to step up.