2023 World Cup Fantasy League: Best Fantasy XI for Match 25 - ENG vs SL - 26 Oct, 2023 | World Cup Fantasy Tips

England (ENG) and Sri Lanka (SL) face off in the 25th match of the 2023 Men's ODI World Cup (WC) on Thursday, October 26, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.

The fantasy team suggested for the previous CWC 2023 match.

Players playing in Match 24: David Warner (BAT) (AUS), Glenn Maxwell (ALL) (AUS), Mitchell Starc (BOWL) (AUS), and Steve Smith (BAT) (AUS).

Captain: David Warner | Vice-captain: Steve Smith

Total Points: 10,646.5.

It was a relief to see the captain and vice-captain choices scoring points for a change, although I was upset seeing Steve Smith miss out on a big hundred. Maxwell's returns with the bat was a total surprise as I picked him more from the bowling side of things, and with Mitchell Marsh picking up wickets with the ball, I'm not as sure of picking Maxwell now as I was before.

It did pain me to miss out on all three of Adam Zampa's hauls, and the Aussie leg-spinner continues to be a hard bowler to face, especially for lower-order batters.

I intend to keep the good momentum going in the upcoming match where England take on Sri Lanka. Joe Root is the only player I have from that fixture.

Transfer Deadline: 02:00 pm IST, Thursday, October 26.

Note: The suggested team is subject to change depending on the toss or other unexpected team news. Any such changes will be updated for the next match day.

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Transfers

Transfers Made: 3 | Transfers Remaining: 64

1) Steve Smith (BAT) (AUS) - OUT | Dawid Malan (BAT) (ENG) - IN

2) Glenn Maxwell (ALL) (AUS) - OUT | Dilshan Madushanka (BOWL) (SL) - IN

3) Shakib Al Hasan (ALL) (BAN) - OUT | Jos Buttler (WK) (ENG) - IN

These transfers are heavily oriented towards England batting first, but if they do, I feel they're going to rack up the points. Dawid Malan made that big hundred against Bangladesh, but hasn't had much success otherwise. He should enjoy batting on this surface, and once he gets his eye in, he'll be difficult to stop.

Sri Lanka is one of Jos Buttler's favorite oppositions, and the England captain will want to deliver a statement performance against them to get both his and England's campaign up and running.

The main problem I see with this selection is the lack of Sri Lankan batters and England bowlers, but I have no idea who will play for England, with plenty of changes expected in their lower order and bowling attack. I might end up revising my transfers based on some of those changes, with Liam Livingstone and Sam Curran being the players I'm interested in.

The same goes with Sri Lanka and what'll happen to their batting order when Angelo Mathews comes into the side. They have batted pretty well all tournament, but I'm unsure about which of their batters to pick. That's why Dilshan Madushanka, their left-arm pace ace, is the only player I've selected so far. I don't see him stopping picking up wickets anytime soon.

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2023 World Cup Fantasy - Best Fantasy XI for Match 25 -

ENG vs SL: Thoughts and Captaincy Tips

Best 2023 World Cup Fantasy Team for Match 25 - ENG vs SL

Players playing in Match 25: Joe Root (BAT) (ENG), Dawid Malan (BAT) (ENG), Dilshan Madushanka (BOWL) (SL), and Jos Buttler (WK) (ENG).

I'm backing Joe Root to deliver big in this match. He could also play a role with the ball, bowling his off-spinners, but at No. 3, England's talisman should lead from the front and play a big knock to get some momentum going for the side and I'm almost sure to captain him.

Any of the other three players can be the vice-captain, and right now, I have little to separate them.

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Other players

Quinton de Kock (WK) (SA) | Next Fixture: vs PAK, Match 26

Rachin Ravindra (ALL) (NZ) | Next Fixture: vs AUS, Match 27

Babar Azam (BAT) (PAK) | Next Fixture: vs SA, Match 26

David Warner (BAT) (AUS) | Next Fixture: vs NZ, Match 27

Shaheen Afridi (BOWL) (PAK) | Next Fixture: vs SA, Match 26

Mitchell Starc (BOWL) (AUS) | Next Fixture: vs NZ, Match 27

Kagiso Rabada (BOWL) (SA) | Next Fixture: vs PAK, Match 26