In recent years, fantasy sports have become very popular with Indian sports lovers. In today’s world, it is one of the major sources of entertainment as it adds additional excitement to our experience of watching the game.
With cricket being the most followed sport in India, it comes as no surprise to see millions of cricket lovers across the country play fantasy cricket games online.
In this game, you get to be a part of the cricketing action taking place on the field, at a place of your convenience and choice.
You get the opportunity to be the manager and owner of cricket teams, which score points depending on the performance of your players.
Fantasy cricket not only increases your knowledge of the game, but also connects you with different people across the country, whom you can defeat in a contest by showcasing your fantasy skills.
The free Howzat fantasy cricket app available to download from the Play Store is the best platform to play fantasy games for free.
It has a user-friendly interface and is very easy to sign up for. You just need to download the app from the Google Play Store and enter your mobile number and the OTP sent to sign up.
You don’t even need to create a password. Once you’re logged in, select the match you wish to play and select your team.
Your team should have 11 players in total, including a maximum of 7 from any one team. You can choose 1-4 wicket-keepers, 1-6 batsmen, 1-6 all-rounders and 1-6 bowlers.
To get the latest updates and learn tips and tricks for the upcoming matches, you can follow the Howzat blog page.
It will not only help you with strategies to defeat your opponents, but also increase your overall knowledge of the game.
Let’s take a look at some important factors to consider while playing the fantasy cricket game online:
1. Research before you join any matches
Do not blindly invest in every match. Some study and research is always important before you plan on playing a game.
It is necessary to check several factors that can affect your game such as the background of the team, the pitch and weather conditions where the match will be played, the recent record of both the teams playing, and the recent performance of the players.
If you do not stay updated on the latest team news, you might end up having players in your team who are not playing in the match.
Moreover, if there’s rain predicted in a cricket match, there are high chances of the match being played with reduced overs, with the DRS method coming into play.
2. Focus on getting the team combination right
It is very important to select the right team and not simply depend on factors like luck or chance.
Along with choosing a template team, ensure that you have some differentials in your team as well.
All-rounders who can both bat and bowl are a gem in the fantasy cricket game, as they can win you points for both batting and bowling.
In the shorter format of the game, it is advisable to have top-order batters, as they will play the majority of the deliveries and thus increase your chances of scoring points.
The options in the bowling department are a little more spread out compared to the batting order.
However, selecting wicket-taking bowlers over economical bowlers will fetch you better points.
3. Do a thorough study before selecting your team
Researching before creating a team is crucial. Let’s take a look at the factors to consider while creating a team for a cricket match:
- Pitch conditions: Research about the pitch conditions and understand who it is likely to assist: batters, fast bowlers or spinners. Accordingly, you can select your squad consisting of more batters or bowlers as the pitch demands. There are mainly three kinds of pitches – dead, green and dusty. The dead pitches have absolutely nothing for bowlers and batters are likely to pile up plenty of runs. The green pitches help fast bowlers and seamers, while dusty pitches are slow tracks that are best suited to spinners. Also, take a look at the ground history to see if any players playing in the match have had notable performances or records at that venue.
- Average score of the venue: Knowing the average score of the venue can help you in deciding whether you need more batters or bowlers in your team.
- Team and players’ form: It is crucial to know the form of the players and the team as a whole coming into the match. This will help you know which team has stronger odds of winning the match and which players are likely to perform well.
- Game format: The selections will be varied according to the format of the game being played. In the shorter formats, selecting more top-order batters and bowlers who bowl well during death overs is advisable. In red-ball cricket, consistency and form of the players is more of a factor to consider.
- Toss and playing XI: The toss plays a very important role in selecting the team as the final team sheets are released during this period. The last thing you would want is to have a non-starting player on your team. Thus, it’s very important to know the team news and keep yourself updated if there’s any last-minute injury to any player or any strategic replacement in the team.
- Captain and vice captain: Selecting the right captain and the vice captain plays an important role. The captain wins 2X points as compared to the remaining players for the same performance, while the vice captain gets 1.5X points. Thus, it is very important to choose them wisely. Try picking players who would have many ways of accumulating points, like all-rounders. Also, keep an eye on consistency and recent form while choosing your captain and vice captain.
These were some tips and tricks to play the fantasy cricket game and pick the perfect team. Keep these tricks in mind while creating your fantasy teams to defeat players from across the country and win big.
You can also play fantasy cricket for cash on the Howzat cash app, available to download from Howzat’s official website, and win real money in the form of cash prizes. Get the latest insights and match predictions for all the upcoming matches on the Howzat blog. Happy gaming!
