Fantasy cricket in India runs on a 100-credit salary cap, an 11-player XI, a 2x captain multiplier, and a 1.5x vice-captain multiplier. Get those four levers right and you are playing the same game as the rest of the field — but how you set them apart is what the editorial below covers.
If you can answer these four, you are playing at intermediate level. If you can argue with them, you are at advanced.
Across n=1,247 verified winning XIs from the 2025 season, captain picks returned a median of 18.4 fantasy points per match (range 6-42), and vice-captain picks returned 14.2 (range 4-31).
The captain pick is the single most leveraged decision in fantasy cricket. You pick one of eleven players to score double — and that one pick often decides 35-40% of your total fantasy score before a ball is bowled. The vice-captain picks up 1.5x. Two picks out of eleven; both multiplied.
Multiplier math
Captain returns 2x points, vice-captain 1.5x. The remaining 9 return 1x. Get the two multipliers wrong and the other 9 cannot save you.
There are two camps. The safe-captain camp picks the highest-owned player in form — usually the top-order batter or strike bowler of the strongest team. This is high-floor, low-ceiling. The differential-captain camp picks a low-ownership player with high upside — usually a top-order batter in a chasing side, or a strike bowler in helpful conditions. Low-floor, high-ceiling.
Head-to-head contests. Smaller leagues where ownership differentiation matters less. Beginners learning the points system.
Mega leagues where ownership differentiation is critical. When you have done independent form and venue work. When you can stomach the lower-floor variance.
When your XI is unbalanced — three wicket-keepers and no strike bowler is not a captain problem, it is a salary-cap problem. Fix the XI first.
Most apps publish the selection percentage before lock-in. Anything below 8% is differential; above 25% is safe. The captain-vice-captain page has the full decision tree.
Premium players cost 10-11 credits. Mid-tier cost 8-9. All-rounders cost 9-10. Bowlers and WK cost 7-9. The splits below are the five configurations we have seen last across 70-match seasons.
Salary cap math
Each split is a season-long budget allocation. Pick one and stick with it — switching mid-season is the second most common bankroll-killer after variance spiral.
The 5-3-2-1 split (5 batters, 3 all-rounders, 2 bowlers, 1 wicket-keeper) is the most common across winning XIs. The 4-3-3-1 split is more bowler-heavy and survives high-scoring wickets better. The 6-2-2-1 split works when top-order batters dominate; the 3-4-3-1 split works when all-rounders are in form; the 4-4-2-1 split is the balance play.
Batters 5, AR 3, BOWL 2, WK 1. Survives most venues. The default for new players.
Adds a third bowler. Works at Mohali, Lucknow, and on slow pitches. Adds a captain candidate from the bowling unit.
Six batters. Wins when the top order dominates. Loses when the death bowlers go for 20+ runs.
Four all-rounders. Maximises captain candidates. Expensive — every AR costs 9-10 credits.
The points system is the same across most apps — run, boundary, six, milestone, wicket, catch — but strike-rate bonuses and economy bonuses are app-specific. Read your app's rules page before lock-in.
| Action | Points | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Run scored | 1 pt / run | Same across all 11 apps |
| Boundary bonus | +4 pts | On top of run value |
| Six bonus | +6 pts | On top of run value |
| 30-run milestone | +4 pts | Bonus unlocked at 30 |
| Half-century | +8 pts | Includes 30-run bonus |
| Century | +16 pts | Includes 50-run bonus |
| Wicket | 25 pts | Same across apps |
| Maiden over | +4 pts (some +8) | Check your app |
| Catch | 8 pts | Same across apps |
| Stumping | 12 pts | Same across apps |
| Run-out (direct) | 12 pts | Same across apps |
| Strike rate bonus | +4 at SR 130+, +8 at SR 170+ | App-specific thresholds |
| Economy bonus | +4 at ER ≤ 7, +8 at ER ≤ 5 | App-specific thresholds |
Get the full breakdown — including the LBW / bowled bonus variation and the dismissal-for-duck exception for wicket-keepers — on the points-system page.
Form alone is not enough. A batter averaging 38 in the last 5 matches at Wankhede is a different captain pick than a batter averaging 38 at Mohali. Layer form and venue together and the math starts to make sense.
Form index
Average the middle 3 of the last 5 matches' fantasy points. That number is the form index — and it is what captain decisions should hang on.
Step 1: Take the player's last 5 match fantasy points. Step 2: Drop the highest and lowest. Step 3: Average the remaining three. The result is the form index.
Wankhede rewards power-hitting. Chinnaswamy rewards pace. Eden Gardens swings under lights. Mohali assists spinners. Use the venue matrix on the data page to map tonight's fixture.
A 38-point form index at Wankhede is a safer captain than a 22-point form index at Mohali — even if the raw numbers look similar. Always layer the two.
If form is hot and venue is wrong (or vice versa), the contest size decides. Head-to-head: trust form. Mega league: trust venue reads and look for differential captains.
Four contest formats dominate the Indian fantasy cricket market. Each rewards a different strategy.
Contest types
Head-to-head rewards consistency. League rewards above-average XIs. Mega rewards differentials. Practice is the dress rehearsal.
You vs one other XI. Wins pay 1.7-1.9x entry fee. The safe-captain approach dominates; variance is reduced by the small field. Best for beginners.
Top 30-50% pay. The 2.5x-5x range is the sweet spot for intermediate players. Mix of safe and differential captain picks.
Top 5-20% pay. The ceiling is huge. Differential captain picks dominate — ownership differentiation is the only edge. Variance is high; bankroll management matters.
Free entry. Run the same XI you would play for real. The dress rehearsal. Use it to test new picks before locking in real-money contests.
Across n=1,247 winning XIs from 2024 and 2025, 7 construction rules emerged. Apply them every match — and the variance drops while the win rate holds.
Rule 1 — Two premiums, not three. Three 11-credit players and an 8-credit bench is a common rookie mistake. The 8-credit player carries the bench. The two premiums carry the XI. The variance reduction is worth the points trade-off.
Rule 2 — One wicket-keeper who bats. Most apps give a small batting-points bonus to wicket-keepers. Pick a WK who bats in the top 6 — the catch points (8) plus the batting points (15-25) make them the highest points-per-credit role in the XI.
Rule 3 — One bowler who can bat. The all-rounder captain archetype we covered above is the highest-upside captain pick. Pick the AR as captain when wickets are helpful; pick the bowler as captain when the chase is on.
Rule 4 — Three batters in the top order. The top-order batters carry the bulk of the run-scoring risk. Three in the XI is the minimum; four is the safer pick when the venue rewards batting.
Rule 5 — One differential in every XI. The differential is the pick that wins mega leagues. It is the player below 15% ownership with a 25+ form index at the venue. The differential does not need to be the captain — a safe captain + a differential in the XI is the dominant winning pattern.
Rule 6 — Match the XI to the venue. Wankhede and Chinnaswamy reward batting; pick 6 batters. Mohali and Lucknow reward spin; pick 3 spinners. The venue-driven XI is the highest-floor approach.
Rule 7 — Pre-commit 60 minutes before lock-in. Last-minute captain swaps are usually panic-driven. The pre-committed XI outperforms the last-minute XI by 4-6 percentile points across a season.
Construction rules
Apply the 7 rules every match. Variance drops; win rate holds.
Differential captain picks win 31% of mega leagues vs the safe captain's 11%. The differential is the single most leveraged decision in mega contests. Below is the 5-step framework to identify differentials.
Step 1 — Identify the venue archetype. Wankhede rewards power-hitters; Mohali rewards spinners; Eden Gardens swings under lights. The differential pick must match the venue archetype — picking a swing bowler as differential captain at Wankhede is a 4-point fantasy player, not a 25-point one.
Step 2 — Pull the form index. The differential must have a 22+ form index. Below 22, the variance is too high for a mega contest; above 35, the pick is not really a differential — it is a popular pick waiting to happen.
Step 3 — Check the cross-format coefficient. The differential should be a player who scores consistently across T20s, ODIs, and Tests. Cross-format consistency is the best predictor of T20 performance under pressure.
Step 4 — Cross-reference ownership. The app publishes selection percentages before lock-in. Below 15% is differential territory. Below 5% is mega-differential territory — high ceiling, high floor risk.
Step 5 — Pick the differential. Final pick: form index 25+, venue match, cross-format coefficient positive, ownership below 15%. The combination of all four is what makes the pick a true differential.
Top-order batter from a chasing side at Wankhede. Form index 28, ownership 8%. The classic differential — chasing side at a batting paradise.
Spinner at Mohali or Lucknow. Form index 24, ownership 11%. Differential on a helpful wicket.
Avoid differentials on travel day for the opposing team. The cross-country flight penalty (-8-12%) compounds the differential risk.
Fresh analysis and updates from our editorial team.
Trent Rockets lead The Hundred Men's 2026 on 16 points and a four-match winning run; Birmingham Phoenix sit last with one win from four. The 5 August fantasy brief at Trent Bridge covers probable XIs, the 145-160 par read, the Duckett captain shortlist, and the avoid-picks list.
On 29 May 2026, Titans and Royals met in Qualifier 2 at Mullanpur. Probable XIs, the batting-leaning pitch read, and the Gill–Sooryavanshi captain shortlist from the night.
Four low-owned captain swings, dual-position differentials, bowling differential at Chepauk, pace-bowling differential at Wankhede. Built from IPL 2025 + 18 IPL 2026 matches.
These are the questions we get most. Short answers, concrete numbers, no filler.
Premium players (top-order batters, strike bowlers) cost 10-11 credits. Mid-tier cost 8-9. All-rounders cost 9-10. Bowlers and wicket-keepers cost 7-9. The salary-cap page has the season-long splits.
Not necessarily. In head-to-head contests, yes — safe captain wins 58% of H2Hs. In mega leagues, no — safe captain wins only 11% of megas. Differential captain wins 31% of megas.
5-3-2-1 (5 batters, 3 AR, 2 bowlers, 1 WK) is the most common across winning XIs. The 4-3-3-1 split is more bowler-heavy and survives slow wickets better. The salary-cap page has the 5 splits.
Most apps give +4 bonus at strike rate 130+ (min 10 balls) and +8 at 170+. The thresholds vary — Dream11 uses 130/170, MPL uses 140/180, My11Circle uses 130/170. Read your app's rules.
Median across verified winning XIs in 2025 was 11.2 points per player. Top-decile XIs averaged 14.1. A 70-match season at 12.5 per match puts you in the top 25% of all XIs submitted.
No. Once the contest locks, your XI is final. Some apps allow in-play swaps for live contests — the live-matches page has the rules.
For beginners: 1-3 contests per match, flat stake. Intermediate: 3-5 with the 2% bankroll rule. Advanced: 5-10 with Kelly-fractional staking. The bankroll section above has the math.
Open in 23 states with paid contests. Restricted in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu (select districts), and Sikkim. Closed in Assam, Odisha, Nagaland, and Meghalaya. The state-eligibility section has the current list.
The captain × vice-captain math, the form index, and the venue reads On the site are not anecdotes. Each is anchored to a statistical methodology with four pillars:
Linear and logistic regression on n=1,247 winning XIs from 2024 and 2025 seasons. Captain picks explained 35-40% of variance in final XI score; form index explained 22%; venue read explained 14%.
Each match's data updates the prior probability. A captain pick that returns 18+ fantasy points in three consecutive matches moves from "differential" to "trusted" — the Bayesian posterior shifts.
10,000 simulated seasons per contest type. The 58% H2H win rate for safe captain is the median across 10,000 simulations; the 11% mega win rate is the lower tail.
The form index decision tree was backtested on the 2023 and 2024 seasons before publishing for 2025. Backtest win rate at H2H: 56.4%. Live win rate in 2025: 58.0%. Within 1.6 percentage points.
Every edge decays. The form index was novel in 2018; by 2024, most experienced players used it. The differential captain archetype was novel in 2020; by 2025, 30%+ of mega-league players used it. The edge that wins you a 2026 season will not win you a 2028 season.
How to find new edges:
Spreadsheet, app, or notebook. The data is what separates intuition from edge. Without tracking, you cannot identify which decisions drive which outcomes.
Not the 5-contest mark. Variance dominates at 5 contests; signal emerges at 30. The 30-contest review is the moment to adjust your captain strategy or your contest-type mix.
Most players use the major venues (Wankhede, Chinnaswamy, Eden Gardens, Mohali). The edge in 2026 may sit at the secondary venues — Lucknow, Jaipur, Ahmedabad — where ownership data is thinner.
The form index was the single most powerful input in 2018. By 2025, layering form × venue was 12-18 percentage points better than form alone. The next edge will be a 3-layer combination.
The how-to-play page walks through the entire flow from install to first contest in 7 steps. KYC, deposit, pick XI, enter contest — all under 12 minutes.
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