Surface
Dry turner (Chennai, Lucknow)
Spinners and set batters carry the points. A top-order batter with a high balls-per-boundary ratio is a strong captain if he gets 8-10 overs of spin in the middle.
Fantasy Tips
Fantasy cricket strategy, written for match-day readers
A working primer on captain picks, surface reads, venue templates and bankroll discipline. Updated through the IPL 2026 season.
Why this guide exists
Fantasy cricket is a game of small, well-reasoned decisions made under a time limit. The desk at IPL Fantasy Score has spent the last three IPL cycles writing the same kind of primer for friends who joined their first contest and then never picked up the second one. This page collects those habits in one place.
It is not a system that guarantees wins. Nothing does. It is a set of habits that, when repeated for 70 league games, leaves a reader with a team they can explain on Monday morning. That, in the end, is the only thing that separates a fantasy player who improves from one who does not.
1. Read the pitch before you read the line-up
The single biggest fantasy input is the surface. A dry Chepauk track demands a different XI than a flat Wankhede wicket. A green Mohali morning changes the bowling choice. The match preview pages on the desk are written to be read between 4pm and 6pm on match day, not after the toss.
2. The captain pick is two decisions, not one
First, pick the player most likely to top-score on this surface. Second, decide whether that player has a low ownership percentage in your contest. A captain who is heavily owned in a large contest gives you no differential. A captain who is rarely picked but who fits the surface is worth the volatility.
3. Keep a saved XI template by venue
You will play the same teams at the same grounds multiple times in a season. The bowler mix, the batting order, the role of the impact player all change with venue. Maintain three or four saved templates, one per ground, and tweak rather than rebuild.
4. Watch the toss thirty minutes before lock
The toss changes the XI more than the average reader realises. A chasing XI is built differently from a defending XI. The named impact player often tells you which way the captain is thinking. Confirm the playing 11 at toss, not at 4pm.
5. Bankroll discipline beats captain picks
The boring part. It is also the part that keeps winners in the contest. Decide a fixed stake per contest before you start. Set a hard stop at three straight losses. Walk away. A season is long and the contests are many.
Captain pick reasoning, by surface
Three surfaces and the captain logic the desk applies to each.
Surface
Flat deck (Mumbai, Bengaluru)
Powerplay wickets and death-over wickets carry equal weight. Pace-bowling all-rounders and top-order batters who bat through the innings are the captain pool.
Surface
Green seamer (Mohali, Delhi)
New-ball bowlers and lower-order batters who can swing a bat. Captain a fast-bowling all-rounder on a green morning; the points compound through wickets and lower-order runs.
Common mistakes the desk still sees
Five recurring errors that cost fantasy readers points every season.
1
Picking yesterday's top scorer
Form is real but it decays fast in T20s. A 70-ball 90 on a flat deck is not a predictor of a 30-ball 12 on a slow turner.
2
Ignoring the impact player rule
The named impact player at the toss changes the XI's bowling and batting options. Build the team so the impact slot covers the surface.
3
Chasing ownership percentage
High ownership means no differential. In a large contest, the captain should rarely be the most-picked player.
4
Submitting before the toss
A submitted team cannot change. A 30-minute wait is worth the information. Lock after the toss, never before.
5
Ignoring state eligibility
Readers in restricted states should not deposit on paid contests. The eligibility explainer covers the current position for each state.
Related reading
Three more pages from the desk that pair with this primer.
Reference
Points system reference
The standard T20 scoring table, with platform-by-platform notes on the small variations.
Voices
Voices from past winners
Readers who finished in the top 1% in past seasons tell us what worked.
Build your first team with the desk
Start with the fantasy primer, the points system reference and tonight's pitch report. Lock after the toss.
What this page covers, in long form
A second pass through the topic with extra context, examples and the small habits the desk uses on its own teams.
Insight 01
Surface over form
The single biggest input to any fantasy cricket decision is the playing surface, not the recent form table. A dry Chepauk turner rewards a different XI than a flat Chinnaswamy track, and a green Mohali morning changes the captain pick again. Reading the pitch report the night before the toss is the highest-use habit a fantasy reader can build.
Insight 02
Captain over eleven
The captain pick is worth more than the eleven. A captain who scores 40 with two boundaries earns 96 fantasy points before any milestone bonus; the same innings from a non-captain earns 48. The captain multiplier is where most of the season's variance is decided, and the captain pick should be made after reading the surface, not before.
Insight 03
Bankroll beats picks
The desk's strongest readers win not because of better captain picks but because of better bankroll habits. A fixed stake per contest, three small contests instead of one big one, and a hard stop after three straight losses are the boring habits that keep readers in the contest long enough to learn.
A note on ownership
Ownership percentage is the most under-used input on a fantasy desk. In a large contest, the captain should rarely be the most-picked player. A captain who is owned by 8% of the contest and who fits the surface gives you a swing; a captain who is owned by 60% gives you no differential. Track ownership through the season, not just at the start.
Five reads the desk returns to
Articles, columns and references the desk keeps open in a browser tab through the season.
Match report
MI edge CSK in a 19-over chase
The desk's read on Tuesday's Wankhede fixture and what it means for the rest of the week.
Captain pick
Captain pick of the day
The 4-factor reasoning for tonight's captain pick: surface, form, match-up, role.
Pitch report
Chepauk reading: dry top, slow turn
What the surface looks like 90 minutes before toss, and the fantasy angle.
Team preview
Mumbai Indians: a rebuild on a flat deck
A new opening pair and a death-over reshuffle.
Three things to carry into the next page
A short reading-end summary for the desk's match-day readers.
1
The surface is the input
Read the pitch report before you read the line-up. The surface dictates the captain pool more reliably than the recent form table. A dry turner and a flat deck are different games; treat them as such.
2
The captain is the output
Pick the captain after the surface, form and match-up all point one way. If they do not point one way, pick the differential. The captain pick is the single biggest source of variance in any contest.
3
The bankroll is the discipline
Fixed stake per contest, three small contests instead of one big one, walk away after three losses. The boring habits are the ones that keep winners in the contest long enough to learn.
Editorial reminder
IPL Fantasy Score is an editorial publication. We do not run a paid fantasy platform; we publish coverage. The desk's habit is to describe the captain logic in plain language and let the reader decide. We do not promise winning teams. We publish reasoning.