All that you need to know about IPL Fantasy Championship

It seems just yesterday when Brendon McCullum took on the mantle of announcing the IPL to the world. Nine years have passed since that blitzkrieg and every year the Indian Premier League (IPL) has grown in stature.

The IPL was supposed to entertain, to bring in city rivalries and to give the Indian cricket fans a two-month long cricket vacation. And boy has it delivered! The initial apprehensions against the short format have fizzed away and people have gradually understood the importance of the T20 game in the larger scheme of things.

Time flies, things change; that is the norm of the world. But the Indian cricket fan defies worldly norms. His expectations stand the test of time. They never waver, never go away and no matter how much the average Indian cricket fan curses the performance of his favourite IPL team, he/she always stands by them.

Yes, there is the occasional rant that a fan goes on about the bleak performances of his team; but then that is only an exhibition of the amount of emotional attachment that he has for the sport and the team.

Oh! And the opinions, how can we forget them. Every person sitting in every nook and corner of the country is a selector, a captain, a bowler, a batsman, a fielder, an umpire and even a commentator in his head. He has the perfect notion of what the best eleven must look like, what field setting should be in place and which batsman should play at which position.

Every one of us would love to wield that power of announcing the team before every match, of seeing the ‘perfect’ side completely battering the opponents. And how can we forget the love for banter and competition that every Indian fan lusts for?

The IPL Fantasy League comes very close to satiating all that. It provides the perfect platform for all the tactical geniuses of the country to display their cricketing acumen. With a smooth interface and the option of creating your own private league, fans can compete with their friends and relatives to see who has the finest managerial skills.

The ‘Tournament mode’ demands proper planning, and with a cap on the amount of transfers for the entire tournament, one has to have an eye on the future in order to save transfers. The Fantasy League has all the ingredients to keep you fully engaged during the entire length of the tournament.

Basic Fantasy League guidelines

8 teams, 56 league games, 80 transfers, innumerable superstars.

Note: For the second phase (the knockout phase), you have 8 transfers but more about that later.

The first rule of the IPL fantasy game is that it’s a marathon and not a sprint. There will be bleak periods, but with a sound strategy and your daily dose of Fantasy tips (Yes, I’ll be giving those throughout the tournament) you are bound to hit your purple patch. Just don’t give up, for the love of the game.

Now, coming to the team composition, you can select a minimum of 2 bowlers and a maximum of 5, a minimum of 4 batsmen and a maximum of 5, a minimum of 1 allrounder and a maximum of 4 and exactly one wicketkeeper. Also, you can have just 4 overseas players in your side.

The scoring system during the ICC World T20 was a little skewed in favour of the bowlers but the IPL Fantasy makers have tried to restore some parity and have decided to award just 20 points for a wicket. The batsmen will get a point for a run and a few extra points for having a healthy strike rate and for dealing in boundaries.

Batting

Bowling

Fielding

Bonus Points

* – A player must score a minimum 10 runs to be eligible for the Strike Rate bonus.

* – A player will be awarded the bonus for his 3rd, 4th, 5th and following wickets.

* – A player should have bowled at least 1 completed over to be eligible for the Economy Rate bonus.

* – The runout bonus points will only be added to the fielder who throws the ball, not to the fielder who dislodges the bails.

* – The Man of the Match bonus points are awarded to the official IPL Man of the Match announced after the game.

Also, before the start of the tournament, just familiarize yourself with the user interface as it has changed a fair bit from the last year (and probably for the worse).

Just give it your all, as this is the only legal way to quantify your cricketing judgments. Check this space out tomorrow for the first ‘Fantasy tips’ article for this season of the IPL. I’ll be your guide for the entire season and I hope I can provide you with some much-needed analysis on players, pitches and the best possible combination for all matches

Happy team picking!

For more details check here