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CricBattle Daily Fantasy Cricket League Tips

Rajasthan vs Punjab on April 12

Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings share a lot of similarities. They are two teams who played the role of bottom-dwellers in the last couple of seasons, but have made some interesting changes for this season. The Royals have made Sanju Samson, a player who has been with the franchise for a long time, their captain. They have also added to their balance by signing Chris Morris, as he is a player that can win matches both with his batting and his bowling. Punjab Kings lacked bowling firepower last season, something that should not be a problem for them this year, as they have added two talented Aussie pace guns in Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith. All of that being said, it will come down to the execution of game plans, which will make the difference between the two sides.

Best economical pick – Rahul Tewatia was a find of the season for Rajasthan last year. He scored 255 runs at a brilliant strike-rate of close to 140 and then picked up 10 wickets as well. He got picked in the Indian team as well only for his fitness to become a hindrance. He will once again be key for Rajasthan and can turn out to be an X-Factor player in Cricbattle Fantasy teams.

Top captains & vice captains – There is little surprise in this aspect. KL Rahul won the Orange Cap last season and led from the front for Punjab. Unfortunately, his team couldn’t make it to the playoffs. Wasim Jaffer last week stated that a different Rahul will be on display this time around and it will be interesting to see if the Punjab skipper comes out all guns blazing. He is definitely a player to have in your Fantasy team. Ben Stokes opened the innings in the last few matches of the previous season and if Rajasthan continue with him, the all-rounder can earn a lot of Fantasy points. Stokes can go aggressive upfront in the powerplay to score quick runs and then bowl his quota of four overs as well.

Smart pick – Chris Morris might have been sold for a hefty price tag, but since he is a player that bowls at the death and is also a great finisher, the price tag is justified. His bat hasn’t made much noise recently, but in his last 5 T20 games, he has picked up 5 wickets, while also being economical in 4 of those matches.

Cautious Pick – PBKS have a couple of selection dilemmas when it comes to the middle order. Dawid Malan is the No.1 ranked T20I batsman in the world, but it will be difficult for the team management to fit three overseas batsmen in the playing XI after splurging on foreign fast bowlers in the auction. Moreover, Malan's ideal batting position is in the top 4, and moving Pooran down to No. 5 might minimize the Caribbean batsman's impact. So Dawid Malan might not feature in the Playing XI.

My XI – KL Rahul (Captain), Ben Stokes (Vice-Captain), Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Chris Gayle, Mayank Aggarwal, Y Jaiswal, Ravi Bishnoi, Shreyas Gopal, Mohammad Shami, Sanju Samson