IPL Fantasy Guru: Keep an eye on impact performers

Match No. 3: Transfers made – 0; Transfers remaining – 75

Uncapped player pick: Shahbaz Nadeem out – Karun Nair in

Fantasy Guru’s team for the KXIP vs RR match

Rohit, Kohli and De Villiers are the three standout options to score points against the Knight Riders, but De Villiers’ batting position is always a worry with the defensive mindset of the RCB management. That said, with Darren Sammy in, I don’t think they will delay the South African ODI skipper this season. He should bat at No. 4, which could spell doom for the opposition teams.

Also, RCB are playing Sunrisers after a couple of games. So even if De Villiers bats at No. 5, I would bank on the bowling attacks of KKR and SRH to run through the top order in the first 10 overs so that the South African superman gets enough balls to deliver – both for RCB and the fantasy teams.

Match No. 4: Transfers made – 1; Transfers remaining – 74

Rohit Sharma out – David Warner in

Uncapped player pick: Manan Vohra out – Yuzvendra Chahal in

Fantasy Guru's team for the CSK vs SRH match

Double game focus – Chennai Super Kings

It doesn’t get better than Suresh Raina in IPL, and there is no reason to leave him out. He can bat, he can bowl and he can field. The only threat to him in the two matches that his team will be playing this round, against Delhi Daredevils and Sunrisers Hyderabad, is the new ball pairing of Trent Boult and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Dale Steyn should bowl first change).

If the SRH duo get through the CSK openers (or at least one of them), which they are likely to, Raina will be exposed to some quality swing bowling, to which he can succumb easily. But it's all about seeing through the first four overs, and on these decks, the ball might not swing much. So the threat is too small to overlook him.

A couple of years back, I would have picked Ravichandran Ashwin with my eyes closed. But as I said, the deck is absolutely flat and despite his improvements lately and the fact that he will be bowling to a flurry of left-handers, I don’t see him being a big force. Mohit Sharma is a relatively cheaper option and bowls at the death; on most occasions, there shouldn't be a lot of difference between the points they return.

Dwayne Bravo is going the Albie Morkel way now. With three overseas batsmen in the top 4 and MS Dhoni used to promoting himself after the fall of the third wicket, the Chennai-based team would rarely require Bravo’s services with the bat. So it comes down to how effective he is with the ball on a given day, and he is no Lasith Malinga to demand a spot on that basis.

Speaking of Malinga, he doesn't look like the same force anymore. Dwayne Smith has been having a horror run recently, and I expect the likes of Mohammed Shami, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Boult, Bhuvneshwar and Steyn to sort him out pretty easily.

Brendon McCullum meanwhile is a double-edged sword, and he has always been that. If the Daredevils play two leg-spinners in Amit Mishra and Imran Tahir, it would only be a matter of time before he gets out. The Sunrisers on the other hand present a different threat, but in no way a lesser one. And that’s not to forget McCullum's Achilles heel – left-arm spin, in this case Shahbaz Nadeem.

As far as SRH and DD are concerned, Yuvraj, Warner and Dhawan are easily the three best fantasy picks for the aforementioned reasons. I expect the wickets to be split.

Match No. 5: Transfers made – 2; Transfers remaining – 72

Suresh Raina out – Virat Kohli in

Mohit Sharma out – AB de Villiers in

Uncapped player pick: Will be done based on the first four matches

Guru's team for the KKR vs RCB match

Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals

In addition to Maxwell as cited above, Manan Vohra could help himself to a few runs against an easy-paced bowling attack. Virender Sehwag is not dependable. Wriddhiman Saha could be demoted if the Kings XI get off to a good start.

Juan Theron is skillful, but a lot of that has to do with death bowling – which makes him one dimensional. In the absence of Kane Richardson, Dhawal Kulkarni is the Royals’ only weapon with the new ball. Tim Southee, meanwhile, hasn’t looked like himself post the England demolition job in the just concluded World Cup.

The Royals batsmen, on the other hand, have one of the best bowling attacks to deal with, with the likes of Sandeep Sharma, Mitchell Johnson, Akshar Patel, Karanveer Singh, Thisara Perera and Rishi Dhawan bowling to them.

Watson at No. 4 will likely be stifled by spinners, while Steven Smith will be used as a finisher, thereby nullifying his fantasy potential. Ajinkya Rahane wouldn’t hurt you even if you don’t have him, while bossing the bowling attack in this match could be too big a task for Karun Nair and Sanju Samson.

James Faulkner is likely to bat at No. 7, which is too low for him to make an impact with the bat, while Stuart Binny is not a reliable option. Also, Faulkner is no more the force he was with the new ball a couple of years back.