Fantasy Cricket

Have you heard of fantasy sports?

I’d be surprised if you haven’t. It’s only a $2 billion industry that’s seen a 11 percent annual growth.

It’s advertised on TV. Even in areas where online betting and gambling is illegal.

So, if you haven’t heard of it by now I can only assume you live in a cave with no communication with the outside world.

It’s okay, I’m not judging. And you’re here now. That’s what counts, right?

So, let’s jump into fantasy sports, and more specifically into fantasy cricket. I want to give you an idea of how it all works and what you can do to get started today.

Sound good?

Then let’s make like a cricket and hop right to it.

What we have to offer

If you are looking for Dream11 predictions you can head right over to our Dream11 predictions. Where every analysis we make will include a Dream11 lineup.

If you want to learn more about fantasy sports in general, and in cricket in particular.

You are exactly where you're supposed to be.

You will even get insight into how a pro fantasy player makes his strategies!

What is Fantasy Sports?

Let’s start with an overview of fantasy sports. What is it?

Fantasy sports is an online game or tournament where you create your own team to compete against other fantasy sports teams. Most major sports are covered, including football (NFL), basketball, baseball, soccer, and yes, even cricket.

Here’s how the process works:

You’re given a salary cap. This is virtual money you have to build your team. Then you participate in a draft where you pick players to fill vacant positions on your team.

It’s very similar to how managing a real sports team works.

Once the draft is done you’ll manage your team. You can cut players, bench them, trade them, and so on.

(All this depends on the rules of the league you’re involved in.)

Then once the season or game starts, all you do is sit back to see how each player performs in real life. Their performance will earn your virtual players points. For example, you’ll earn points for touchdowns, how many baskets they make, tackles, etc. – all of which are added up.

The person with the most points at the end of a game or season is the winner.

One of the bigger differences compared to sports betting is the fact that you play against other players, and not against a betting company as is the traditional way. This might be why many countries legalizes fantasy sports but not sports betting.

Every setup is different. Often times it’s not a winner take all. It’s often done tournament style where the top 3, 5, or more players receive a prize.

This is the basic idea, anyway.

How Fantasy Cricket Works

Fantasy cricket is similar to other fantasy sports. The biggest difference comes from the format of the sport itself.

I’ll show you:

You select your team which will need 11 players. Sometimes substitutes as well.
Most commonly there are restrictions by having limited resources to buy your team. It's your job to choose the team that will give you the highest chance of winning.
Once you’ve chosen your team you’ll be able to mix and match the bowling and batting orders. You’ll be able to see your players’ scores and bowling figures on your scorecard.

As far as rules go, every fantasy app has its own style.

Yet they all share the same principals.

If the players you have picked do well, you get points.
One example: 5 points for a six, and 5 points for a wicket.
Prizes vary for winners and type of game you want to play, but does include cash. The more money you pay to play, the higher the payout. This also goes for number of players in the competition.

And that’s the general idea.

Hope that you got a little wiser.

Next up, its time for reviews of the best fantasy cricket apps out there, and how they work.

Fantasy Cricket Apps & Sites

I checked out a few fantasy cricket sites to see how they might differ. I wanted to share what I found with you. Here is a look at the three most promising apps.

Dream 11

Perhaps the biggest cricket fantasy league provider. They focus mainly on the mobile market, but it works fine for desktop as well.

You chose your starting 11 based on the following rules, you have 100credits in total for 11 players

1 wicket keeper
3-5 batsmen
1-3 allrounders
3-5 bowlers

Most players cost between 8-11 points. You also choose a captain and a vice captain for your team. Which receives extra points.

After you have chosen your team, you can enter different types of contest. You can choose if you want to enter a one on one duel, winner takes all. Or they offer mega contests with over 100 000 players!

You can play both single matches or entire leagues.

The winner is determined by the highest score after the match. The score follows a set of predetermined rules. You can read them in the FAQ section after you login. Basically the better your player performs, the higher score you get.

You can check out our Dream11 guide for more information and Dream11 predictions.

HalaPlay

A rival and good alternative to Dream11

As normal you get a budget to choose your eleven starting players and a captain. You can play on almost any cricket match, against your friends or strangers.

This leads us to the most unique aspect of HalaPlay.

You can actually create your own league.

Number of players, prize distribution, what players can join, how many matches count. Its all up to you!

The scoring system is pretty intuitive and straight forward. It includes points for economy rates, (which can be negative).

Make sure you pick players who are going to be in the starting lineup.

If a player isn't on the pitch, ha can't get any points!

Cricket Inc.

You have two options here – T20/ODI or Test.

For both options you select 11 players and to supersubs. There is no restrictions on who you can choose. And you play one team per match.

T20/ODI - The larger number of runs from your batsmen the better (max 20 overs). Your bowlers should take 10 wickets or 20 overs with as few runs as possible.

You choose your own batting order, no points from your batsmen after 20 overs. And no loss from your bowlers after 10 wickets or 20 overs.

You can use your subs after the match is finished, so remember to check carefully where they will do the most use.

Test matches - not the biggest differences for this variation. You want your batsmen yo score as many runs as possible.

Your bowlers should get 10 wickets for less runs within the overs remaining in the test match.

You only get half the number of overs actually played in the match. And the overs from your batters will be counted first.

They mainly focus on international events. Both for T20/ODI as well as test matches.

Things to think about before starting fantasy betting

If fantasy cricket sounds like fun to you, getting started is pretty simple.

Most sites will let you sign up using your Facebook account details. You can also go the route of downloading the app and registering from there.

We recommend that you confirm your account. Before gambling any money at all. Then you can make your deposit with a much higher sense of security.

You are now ready to participate in this MASSIVE, and more importantly LEGAL hobby where other players have won thousands and tens of thousands of dollars.

All for doing something they already like – watching cricket.