A Complete Guide to Fantasy Cricket (2022)

Fantasy cricket websites are a great way to show off your knowledge of the  biggest tournaments and win prizes. Here, we look at the best fantasy sports and betting predictor games provided by top bookmakers and fantasy sports operators in India. Within that, we will explore other key elements, such as the best players and the ideal practices involved in playing fantasy cricket.

What is Fantasy Cricket?

Fantasy Cricket games can vary from simple predictors to a squad selection challenge, where you choose the best 11 players across two sides competing in a particular match. For the latter type of game, the obvious elements – such as runs, boundaries, wickets and economy – all contribute towards your score for a particular game.

In competitions with real cash prizes, money is awarded based on reaching certain heights in the league table within a particular round or over a longer period. Naturally, the biggest prizes are awarded for topping season-long leagues.

Popular Fantasy Cricket Websites – Reviewed

Halaplay

Launched in 2017, Halaplay is the creation of Swapnil Saurav, Ananya Singhal, Aman Kesari, and Prateek Anand. It has grown massively despite being up against older, better-established fantasy cricket providers. The range of contests open to new users is impressive for a provider that finds itself relentlessly competing with the likes of Dream11 and Superbru. It has been vindicated in its decision to focus on football and cricket, given the distribution of its incoming traffic.

In addition to holding public leagues, Halaplay also offers a Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) contest, where you build a team and enter it into a league for a chance to win instant prizes after every game. Amongst its best features therein is the ability to change players even after the coin toss, providing a much more flexible experience than some of its more famous competitors. Another quirky feature is the ability to play ‘reverse league’, in which you select players expected to perform poorly or under par, and where low scores are the key to big prizes!

MyTeam11

MyTeam11 is an absolute giant of fantasy sports – and fantasy cricket in particular – amongst Indian audiences. Along with Dream11, it is easily one of the country’s ‘big two’ in this particular industry, and that is made all the more remarkable when one considers that 2021 only marked the company’s fifth birthday.

By the same point, this fantasy sports operator had exceeded 15m users worldwide, thanks to some impressive real-cash prizes that brought pool betting into the mainstream. MyTeam11 focuses on five main sports: cricket, football, basketball, hockey and volleyball, all of which offer a diverse set of playing modes and contests.

With use of the site available only to those who are 18+, new registrants receive ₹100 as a sign-up bonus if a special code is entered. In terms of fantasy cricket alone, it has few rivals, if any. Selecting a team and / or making predictions is an easy process. Amongst games relating to top cricket tournaments at club level, the IPL-themed contests are a massive draw, with one swing from the bat of a local hero or a foreign superstar having the potential to make you very rich!

Dream11

As MyTeam11’s primary rival in the main Indian cities, Dream11 is under constant pressure to deliver. It does exactly that, rewarding the good application of cricketing knowledge to an impressive degree. The way to do so is simple, whereby you simply pick real-life players and attempt to win potentially massive cash prizes. You can find out more about these in our full guide to Dream11 fantasy cricket.

Many aficionados believe Dream11 to be the number one fantasy cricket game in terms of popularising online wagering contests, and improving the value to enhanced odds or special parlays. In addition to fantasy cricket, the Dream11 app offers a range of other fantasy sports as well, including: football, hockey, kabaddi betting, baseball and basketball.

Although having an ‘educated’ level of knowledge of the game gives you an edge, it is not explicitly necessary to be a professional tipster in order to win the top prizes. In any case, Dream11 also provides expert insight and fantasy cricket tips to guide you along the way to success.

How to Play Dream11

PowerPlay

Powerplay has been described as a ‘360-degree fan engagement platform’, reflecting the company’s unquenchable desire to provide a fantasy cricket experience that encompasses all areas. One unique trait is the ability to enter games during the second inning with your squad in case you miss the first, or simply play the first and miss the second if you want a very fast game with a quick resolution.

Either way, you are not stuck with one game, anxiously awaiting every ball – instead, you can switch to others and keep your hopes up. It is this versatility that keeps people coming back, and prevents any dip in traffic should there be a play that goes against betting trends and causes users to lose interest.

BalleBaazi

With prizes of up to 1 crore available going into 2021, BalleBaazi – which was founded only in 2017 – offers DFS games in which some terrific prizes can be won. In the case of premium fantasy games, wagers of as little as ₹10 have been known to yield a payout of ₹10,000, but there are also free contests open to new users who want to start off with a nice cash bonus.

Withdrawing winnings is an easy, hassle-free process, provided that age and ID verification steps have first been completed. Users with credit that can be withdrawn are able to take out anything from ₹200 to ₹2,00,000 in one go. Payment generally takes around five working days. All terms and conditions can be found on the site itself.

PrimeCaptain

With Prime Captain, new users can get a Rs 50 bonus for free. Unlike its bigger competitors, Prime Captain is generally seen as an option with lower competition overall, meaning a higher probability of winning better prizes. There is also a generous refer-a-friend scheme in place that is well worth looking at.

The app offers fantasy cricket, fantasy football, and fantasy basketball, together with the ability to switch between each of these seamlessly. All sports feature free daily contests, and some allow users to redeem the entire Rs 50 bonus at once.

FanFight

Most fantasy cricket enthusiasts will identify FanFight as one of the biggest platforms out there – equal even to Dream11 and MyTeam11. Operating out of Hyderabad since 2017, and founded by Akhil Suhag (CEO as of March 2021), FanFight is certainly a heavyweight when it comes to fantasy cricket.

Each user gets 100 points to spend on a football or cricket team, with the roster showing the best (and most expensive) players at the top. Once the squad is selected, users choose a contest to join, and can change the selection up to an hour before the scheduled start.

Overall, each user comes away with a very fulfilling fantasy cricket experience, with reports of yearly user retention rates of over 95%. Meanwhile, over 80% of users engage with the site or app at least once a month, though that is closer to 90% during peak cricket season. The learning curve is a challenging one, but very rewarding, ensuring that FanFight's popularity – and its ability to compete with other apps – will survive in the long term.

Superbru

Superbru has been online since 2006, but goes all the way back to 2001, when it started as a paper-based fantasy sports game at the University of Cape Town. We have already created a guide to Superbru, but its main perks are the range of sports on offer, and the simple prediction-based games the site boasts in addition to the squad selector games.

With millions of fans across the world, users can get a huge jackpot. While participation is completely free, anyone can also invest in premium membership, which grants access to various benefits, such as expert insights and live weather forecasts. The Superbru app is available on Android and iOS devices, and is renowned for its simplicity, with seamless transition between menus from the user dashboard.

Looking for top cricket betting tips? See our guide to how to bet on cricket and raise your game!

Fantasy Cricket Betting Tips

Picking the best possible XI is far easier said than done, but the most successful players within any fantasy cricket game always follow the below steps when making selections.

Study and Prioritise Recent Form

Selecting players who are cost-effective but in a rich vein of form is the core of any successful fantasy cricket strategy. They also make good ‘captains’ and usually act as a useful points multiplier.

A series of good performances over a period of 4-6 weeks prior to selection is a decent time frame on which to justify a selection, and these topical performances ultimately matter a lot more than the team they play for or their all-time career record. That said, selecting top-order batsmen is certainly a good place to start if nobody’s form particularly stands out, particularly in T20 themed fantasy cricket games.

Weather and Pitch Analysis

A look at the weather and the condition of the pitch is an oft-overlooked element of Fantasy Cricket. In particular, it affects the effectiveness of differing bowler types. On a slow, dry pitch, spinners are more effective. On the other hand, a more verdant pitch in a stadium known for humid, dewy conditions demands a heavy presence of power-centric batsmen and swing bowlers in a fantasy XI.

Vital Last-Minute Changes

While providers vary in terms of how long before the start of play you can alter selections, you should always keep an eye out for the XIs being announced, and – if you can – react accordingly. There is no worse drain of potential points than a missing player, and if done consistently, this practice is what separates the best from the rest.

Good Combinations are Important

Choosing the ideal combination of batsmen, bowlers, wicket-keepers and fielders is an integral part of winning leagues. With most fantasy cricket games making it compulsory to pick at least one of each, more experienced players generally stick to players known to be reliable all-rounders who bat as far as possible up the order. Ideally, these will be top-four batsmen with moderately good all-round abilities. Those who can combine batting and wicket-keeping are potentially solid gold on their day.

Five Notable Players in Fantasy Cricket Betting

Every player on this list is a consistently popular pick at both international and club level. Figures given are correct as of 23 March 2021.

Rohit Sharma

Sharma is always a figure of reliability in limited-overs cricket, consistently exceeding expectations, and sitting near the top of ‘Man of the Match’ and ‘Player of the Tournament’ outright betting markets. Between the World Cups of 2015 and 2019, Sharma almost always boasted an average of over 60.0 runs per inning, and it was during this period that he also demonstrated his ability to act as a right-arm off-break bowler in times of shortage.

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Virat Kohli

Kohli went into the last World Cup as the world’s top-ranked ODI and Test format batsman, scoring the highest runs of any Indian player between 2015 and 2019. His rise to the very top of Indian cricket is an inspirational one – lovingly detailed by Wisden back in 2018, along with an in-depth analysis of what makes him one of the world’s most devastating batsmen.

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Vijay Shankar

Shankar’s all-round abilities more than make up for any reservations people may have over his relative inexperience at elite international level. In any case, he has wasted no time in quickly shaking off his ‘green’ image, making the most of a surprise selection for the 2019 World Cup. He took a wicket with his very first ball – joining a select group of just two other players in doing so. He maintained a degree of skill beyond his years throughout, and may well have done better, but for an injury that ruled him out of India’s last two fixtures.

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Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya is a truly amazing bowling all-rounder, and perhaps the best to play in such a role for India since the legendary Kapil Dev. Pandya just has a knack for perfect strikes at critical moments, but many feel he can still improve yet further. He has it all – the balance necessary for regular boundary hits, the seamless batting action and quick reactions that can change a game in mere minutes. That is great news for in-play fantasy players and bettors, especially if he is called upon to turn a match around in double-quick time.

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Jasprit Bumrah

Bumrah’s deliveries strike fear into the heart of even the most battle-hardened batsmen at the top level. His run-ups are notoriously short, but his trademark ‘jump’ ensures a degree of unpredictability – without costing him any stability in the move itself. There is no adverse effect on speed either, with his quick hands and strong shoulder making him a perfect deliverer of deceptive yorkers that can trigger an opposition batting collapse without any warning.

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Fantasy IPL – 20 Players to Watch

Based on auction prices for the 2021 season, below are the top 20 IPL players for fantasy sports managers.

Fantasy Cricket FAQs

Which are the best bookmakers offering fantasy sports markets?

We have identified 1xBet, Betway and Unibet as the best bookmakers offering these markets.

Is fantasy cricket free to play?

Unless otherwise stated, Fantasy Cricket is free to play. You can also get fantasy cricket tips for free with most apps and sites.

Which are the most popular fantasy cricket betting tournaments?

Based on longevity, community engagement, popularity and prize money, the most popular Fantasy Cricket tournaments are the Dream11 and MyTeam11 fantasy management contests.

What sort of prizes could I win from fantasy cricket Betting tournaments?

Theoretically, there is no upper limit to fantasy cricket betting tournaments, but there are cases of winners earning upwards of 3 crore in DFS.

Which are the best cricket betting apps?

See our guide to the cricket betting apps available today.

CricketBettingAdvice Final Say

Fantasy cricket websites are ever-growing in popularity, with some amazing prizes on offer that can be found via one of the best cricket betting sites available. The element of competition is the common unique selling point shared by all fantasy cricket sites, along with the sense of community which, in turn, redoubles the drama and tension associated with live games.

With new and exciting features always in development across the board, this is an exciting state of affairs surrounding every worthwhile fantasy cricket app that is sure to withstand the test of time.