Interview
Aanya R., Bengaluru: top-0.3% in IPL 2025 mega contests
A four-captain rotation, a 40% drop in variance, and one habit she wishes she had built earlier. The interview.
Interview
The four-captain rotation that changed her season
Aanya R. finished top-0.3% in IPL 2025 mega contests, a result built on a single habit: she rotated four captains across five match windows. The variance dropped 40% from the year before.
We caught up with her in January to ask how the rotation worked, where it broke down, and what she would change for IPL 2026.
Back to winners
The four-captain rotation
Aanya explains the framework.
"I picked four captains in advance, one for each match window of five games. The choice was driven by surface fit: one for flat decks, one for slow turners, one for green seamers, and one for chase-friendly venues. I did not pick the captain match-by-match; I picked the captain window-by-window."
"The variance dropped 40% from the year before. The standard deviation of my fantasy team's points per game fell from 41 to 25. The mean moved up by about 4 points. The combination - lower variance and slightly higher mean - is what put me in the top half-percent."
"The week it broke was the week three of my window-four captain went out with a side strain at the toss. I had not built in a contingency for that. For 2026, I am planning to keep a fifth captain on the bench as a like-for-like backup."
What she would do differently
Three reads for the 2026 season.
1
Build a backup captain
Keep a fifth captain on the bench as a like-for-like backup for the window's primary pick.
2
Track ownership more carefully
Ownership percentages in large contests shift week to week. Track them through the season, not just at the start.
3
Withdraw winnings quarterly
Withdraw winnings to a bank account every three months. The withdrawal habit keeps the bankroll honest.
Related reading
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.