IPL Fantasy Guru: Will the Gayle storm hit Punjab twice?

Chris Gayle has a good chance of repeating his heroics against Kings XI Punjab

I missed making changes to my team for the RCB vs MI match, so my team would look a lot different from the one you find here. It’s not that I am trying something different. You really can’t compensate for 600-odd points at this stage of the game. The damage done as a result of me missing out on the game is manifold: it is not just the points lost, but I can’t use the wasted subs on anyone else too, as I will have to bring in the same players again for RCB’s next match.

Delhi Daredevils vs Chennai Super Kings

Transfers made – 0; Transfers remaining – 13

Anureet Singh out – Yuzvendra Chahal in

Captaincy choice – Suresh Raina/Dwayne Bravo

If what we saw at this venue in the match between Delhi Daredevils and Sunrisers Hyderabad is anything to go by, this won’t be an easy deck to bat on. With Suresh Raina blowing hot and cold, there aren’t any outstanding captaincy options in this match. Dwayne Bravo hardly gets to bat. Ravichandran Ashwin could be steady at best. JP Duminy will be choked by off-spin and you wouldn’t expect the Chennai Super Kings batsmen to gift their wickets to him.

Considering all these, a gamble on Raina seems to be worth it. And it is not like he hasn’t been in form, but has been getting out playing outrageous shots, at times to nothing deliveries. Apart from Nathan Coulter-Nile, there isn’t any real threat to him here as well.

Michael Hussey would be replacing Brendon McCullum, who has left to join the Kiwi squad in England for the upcoming Test series. It is advisable to see what kind of a form he is in before spending a sub on him.

Kings XI Punjab vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

Transfers made – 1; Transfers remaining – 12

Dwayne Bravo out – Chris Gayle in (Only if Shivam Sharma doesn’t play)

Pawan Negi out – Anureet Singh in

Captaincy choice – AB de Villiers (If RCB bat first)/Mitchell Starc (if RCB bowl first)

We have done this before. Sandeep Sharma vs Chris Gayle – If Sandeep doesn’t get Gayle, Gayle will get Kings XI. As you may have noticed, Gayle struggled to put bat to ball against him in the first over of the match the last time these two teams met. Sandeep, then, instead of maintaining his outside off-stump line, switched to slower balls and yorkers upon seeing Gayle’s onslaught on Mitchell Johnson, which only played into the Caribbean big-hitter’s hands.

With Kings XI going through a rough patch, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Gayle storm making its appearance once again; therefore, I bring him in. However, AB de Villiers would be my captain if RCB bat first. Mitchell Starc may be forced to bowl a couple of overs in the middle to get rid of Glenn Maxwell and David Miller, which can reduce his fantasy potential.

I don’t see Maxwell getting past Starc and Yuzvendra Chahal. With a player of David Miller’s quality, you can't get away with dropping him all the time. Knocks like the one he played against Sunrisers Hyderabad are bound to come, but to bring in him based on that especially when Kings XI are struggling big time in the competition would be naive.

Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders

Transfers made – 3; Transfers remaining – 9

Chris Gayle out – Andre Russell in

Suresh Raina out – Robin Uthappa in

Sandeep Sharma out – Rohit Sharma in

Shreyas Iyer out – Harshal Patel/Sreenath Aravind in (whoever performed well against KXIP, because the other may get dropped)

Andre Russell would be the first player to make his way in for this encounter. The deck would suit Robin Uthappa’s style of play, and therefore he comes in as well. If he can get through Mitchell McClenaghan, I expect a big score here. I wouldn’t pick Brad Hogg on flat decks.

Kolkata Knight Riders have a well-rounded bowling attack, so Lendl Simmons won’t make you regret for ignoring him. Ambati Rayudu can be demoted anytime. For the lack of better Indian options, I would again have to bring in Rohit Sharma.

Shakib Al Hasan should be back for this game, but as noticed in the first few matches of the season, he may bat too low to have a say. Hardik Pandya won't find it easy against the pace of Umesh Yadav and Russell, while the Knight Riders batsmen play spin exceptionally well on flat decks for J Suchith to have any impact.

Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

Transfers made – 0; Transfers remaining – 9

Captaincy pick – AB de Villiers/Mitchell Starc

Uncapped sub based on previous and upcoming matches

With plenty of runs on offer, I am spoilt for choices in this match. One thing is for sure, though: Chris Gayle would find it extremely difficult to do anything of note, with the Sunrisers playing both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Trent Boult. David Warner is in glorious touch, but he takes a lot of risks, so I will again captain AB de Villiers here.

Henriques would struggle to make an impact with the ball against the star-studded RCB batting line-up, so he stays out.