If Dream11 owners, Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth, had decided not to follow their passion in fantasy sports in 2008, there would not be this craze for fantasy cricket in India. With a net worth of USD 1 billion, the largest fantasy sports platform in India today, Dream11 has over 110 million registered users on it.
Cricket is India’s most popular sport, and its popularity is reflected on the Dream11 platform too. Dream11 fantasy cricket is a skill-based game in which you create a team of actual cricketers for an upcoming match and compete against other contestants for cash prizes. Therefore, you can use all your cricketing knowledge to win cash prizes.
We have written this guide to help you make the best possible decisions when it comes to playing fantasy cricket on Dream11 and winning real money. Let us get started.
How to Play Dream11 Fantasy Cricket
1. Assessing Cricket Players Ratings and Form
A. Check the ICC Ratings
Make sure that you check the International Cricket Council (ICC) ratings much before the start of a cricket tournament. The ICC Ranking System is a method for determining the top team or the top cricketer in the world. These rankings apply to all three versions of the game: Test matches, one-day internationals, and Twenty20 matches. After each test match, the test rankings are updated within 12 hours. ODI and T20 rankings, on the other hand, are updated after each series. Men’s and women’s cricket rankings are published separately.
B. Track the Current Form of Cricketers
If a cricketer has been performing well consistently in the past 2 or 3 series, then there is a good chance that he or she will continue to perform well in the upcoming matches too. It’s a good idea to have such consistent players on your today’s Dream11 team. To keep track of a cricketer’s current form you need to get accurate information about their stats and records from credible cricket-centric websites or news sources.
2. How to Pick the Best Dream11 Cricket Matches
A. Create a Cricket Calendar
From reputable cricket-centric sites, you can get a list of national and international cricket matches that are scheduled to take place throughout the year. Using this information, you can make your own Cricket Calendar. You should also use your phone to set reminders for days when your favourite teams are playing. You can select the Dream11 contests that you want to participate in 24 to 48 hours ahead of your chosen scheduled match.
B. Follow the Performances of Cricket Teams
To create the best team for Dream11 today’s match, you must keep a close eye on your favourite teams as well as others. For example, if you wish to participate in fantasy cricket contests during the Big Bash League, you need to be aware of the performances of all the BBL teams in addition to your favourite team. You must also know whether or not certain cricketers are available for the match due to injury or any other cause. This way, you will have all the information you need to pick your fantasy teams on game day.
3. How to Select a Dream11 Cricket Team
Research
To create the best team for Dream11 today, you must conduct comprehensive research on the next match before it begins. Obtain the statistical analysis of batters, bowlers, all-rounders, wicketkeepers, and pitch reports from credible cricket-centric websites like icc-cricket. As mentioned earlier, you also have to be sure about the availability or unavailability of certain cricketers due to injury or any other reason. As a result of your extensive research, you will now have a better plan in place to choose a well-calculated team.
Selecting a Team
Every Dream11 cricket team must have 11 players, with a maximum of 7 players from any one team participating in the real-life match. When it comes to player combinations, you can include a variety. However, always review the latest news about player substitutions or any other last-minute changes in the batting line-up of the real-life cricket team before you create your fantasy team.
Your player selections must stay under the 100-credit limit and your fantasy team must follow the below selection criteria.
| PLAYER TYPE | MINIMUM PER TEAM | MAXIMUM PER TEAM |
| Batter | 3 | 6 |
| Wicket Keeper | 1 | 4 |
| All Rounder | 1 | 4 |
| Bowler | 3 | 6 |
Assess your fantasy team selection. If you wish, you can make changes to your team before you save your team selection. You can keep making changes to your team selection till the actual match starts. But when the cricket match starts, you will not be able to make any more team changes or create new fantasy cricket teams.
Some contests will allow you to create multiple teams. If creating multiple teams is within your affordability, then you should create several to optimize your chances of winning.
4. How to Select Your Dream11 Cricket Captain and Vice-captain
Every fantasy team that you create needs a Captain and a Vice-captain. You will not be able to save your team without selecting these two. The Captain and the Vice-captain will earn you more fantasy points for their endeavours in the real-life match than the other players in your team.
Captain = earns you 2x the points
Vice-captain = earns 1.5x the points
When you are playing Dream 11 prediction cricket contests, you must select the most consistent players for these roles.
5. How Does the Dream11 Points Table Work?
A fantasy points system is used in Dream11 fantasy cricket to score cricketers based on their performance in real matches. The points awarded to cricketers at the end of the game will determine your final rank in the contest that you entered.
In a fantasy cricket contest, there are six types of Dream11 fantasy points: Batting Points, Bowling Points, Fielding Points, Strike Rate Points, Economy Rate Points, and Other Points. These points vary for T20 matches, ODIs and Test Matches. Strike Rate Points and Economy Rate Points don’t apply to Test Matches.
Your Dream11 team for today will be awarded these points as the real-life match progresses.
Let’s have a look at the fantasy points calculation breakdown.
| BATTING POINTS | FOR T20 MATCHES | FOR ODIs | FOR TEST MATCHES |
| Run | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Boundary Bonus | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Six Bonus | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 30 Run Bonus | 4 | NA | NA |
| Half-century Bonus | 8 | 4 | 4 |
| Century Bonus | 16 | 8 | 8 |
| Dismissal for a Duck (All players) | -2 | -3 | -4 |
| BOWLING POINTS | FOR T20 MATCHES | FOR ODIs | FOR TEST MATCHES |
| Wicket (Not including Run Outs) | 25 | 25 | 15 |
| Bonus (For LBW or Bowled dismissals) | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| 3 Wicket Bonus | 4 | NA | NA |
| 4 Wicket Bonus | 8 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 Wicket Bonus | 16 | 8 | 8 |
| Maiden Over | 12 | 4 | NA |
| FIELDING POINTS | FOR T20 MATCHES | FOR ODIs | FOR TEST MATCHES |
| Catch | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| 3 Catch Bonus | 4 | 4 | NA |
| Stumping | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| Run out (Direct hit) | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| Run out (Not a direct hit) | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| ECONOMY RATE POINTS FOR T20 MATCHES (A minimum of 2 overs need to be bowled) | POINTS | ECONOMY RATE POINTS FOR ODIs (A minimum of 5 overs need to be bowled) | POINTS |
| Below 5 runs per over | 6 | Below 2.5 runs per over | 6 |
| Between 5-5.99 runs per over | 4 | Between 2.5 – 3.49 runs per over | 4 |
| Between 6-7 runs per over | 2 | Between 3.5 – 4.5 runs per over | 2 |
| Between 10-11 runs per over | -2 | Between 7 – 8 runs per over | -2 |
| Between 11.01-12 runs per over | -4 | Between 8.01 – 9 runs per over | -4 |
| Above 12 runs per over | -6 | Above 9 runs per over | -6 |
| STRIKE RATE POINTS FOR T20 MATCHES (Minimum 10 Balls needs to be Played) | POINTS | STRIKE RATE POINTS FOR ODIs (Minimum 20 Balls need to be Played | POINTS |
| Above 170 runs per 100 balls | 6 | Above 140 runs per 100 balls | 6 |
| Between 150.01-170 runs per 100 balls | 4 | Between 120.01-140 runs per 100 balls | 4 |
| Between 130-150 runs per 100 balls | 2 | Between 100-120 runs per 100 balls | 2 |
| Between 60-70 runs per 100 balls | -2 | Between 40-50 runs per 100 balls | -2 |
| Between 50-59.99 runs per 100 balls | -4 | Between 30-39.99 runs per 100 balls | -4 |
| Below 50 runs per 100 balls | -6 | Below 30 runs per 100 balls | -6 |
| OTHER POINTS | FOR T20 MATCHES | FOR ODIs | FOR TEST MATCHES |
| Captain | 2x | 2x | 2x |
| Vice-Captain | 1.5x | 1.5x | 1.5x |
| Player in Announced Lineups | 4 | 4 | 4 |
This points system keeps changing now and then. So, make sure that you keep yourself updated.
6. How to Start Playing Dream 11 Fantasy Cricket
You can start playing in any fantasy cricket contest that you want. All you have to do is to click on any cricket match of your choice to construct your Dream11 team and enter any public contest that is based on entry fee, spots available, prize pool, and the number of teams with which you can join.
If you are a complete beginner in Dream11, then you can refine your skills by participating in free practice contests before competing against others with your today Dream11 teams.
Major Dream11 Cricket Tournaments
1. Dream11 IPL Cricket
To play Dream11 IPL live cricket contests, you must have thorough knowledge about the tournament and the teams.
Basic Facts
In 2007, the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) established the Indian Premier League (IPL), a professional Twenty20 cricket league.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the world’s most popular cricket league, ranking sixth among all sports leagues in terms of average attendance according to a survey in 2014. With 31.57 million average viewership and a 23% increase in overall viewing consumption, the 2020 IPL season broke a tremendous viewership record.
The 2015 IPL season brought Rs. 1,150 crore (US$150 million) to the Indian economy, according to the BCCI. According to Duff & Phelps, the IPL’s brand value in 2019 was INR 47,500 crore (USD 6.3 billion).
Teams
Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders, Punjab Kings, and Sunrisers Hyderabad were the eight teams that competed in the IPL 2021.
So, after IPL 2021 the standing is: Mumbai Indians had won the tournaments in 2019 and 2020, have a total of 5 titles, the most successful IPL team. Followed by Chennai Super Kings, who won the championship for the fourth time in 2021.
The BCCI announced in August 2021 that two new franchises would join the league in the 2022 season. The franchises will be based in two of the BCCI’s six shortlisted cities: Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Cuttack, Guwahati, Ranchi, and Dharamshala. There will be some major reshuffling of the existing teams in 2022.
IPL Format
All teams will play each other twice in the league phase. Only the 4 teams on top of the points table will qualify for the playoffs. The playoffs format is as follows.
Qualifier 1 – 1st ranked team vs 2nd ranked team
Eliminator – 3rd ranked team vs 4th ranked team
Qualifier 2 – Qualifier 1 Loser vs Eliminator Winner
Final Match – Qualifier 1 Winner vs Qualifier 2 Winner
IPL 2021 Stats and Records
When you make IPL Dream11 predictions, you have to have all the performance stats of all teams and players handy. Let us look at the best stats from IPL 2021.
| BATSMAN | TEAM | MOST RUNS SCORED |
| Ruturaj Gaikwad | Chennai Super Kings | 635 |
| Faf du Plessis | Chennai Super Kings | 633 |
| KL Rahul | Punjab Kings | 626 |
| Shikhar Dhawan | Delhi Capitals | 587 |
| Glenn Maxwell | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 513 |
| BOWLER | TEAM | WICKETS |
| Harshal Patel | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 32 |
| Avesh Khan | Delhi Capitals | 24 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | Mumbai Indians | 21 |
| Shardul Thakur | Chennai Super Kings | 21 |
| Mohammed Shami | Punjab Kings | 19 |
Players from the Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals teams like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Shikar Dhawan and Avesh Khan consistently scored well on the Dream11 IPL points table in 2021.
2. Dream11 BBL Cricket
Basic Facts
The Big Bash League (BBL or Big Bash or KFC Big Bash) after IPL, is one of the other entertaining T20 cricket tournaments in the world. Cricket Australia created the BBL in 2011 and it is now one of Australia’s biggest sporting success stories. It is one of the two T20 cricket championships to rank in the top 10 domestic sports leagues in terms of average crowd attendance. The overall number of viewers for the BBL 2020-21 season was 44.82 million, with an average of 735,000 per BBL match.
Teams
Each year, eight Australian franchise-based teams compete for the championship. The champions of the BBL 2021-22 will get AUD 450,000 (about INR 2.45 crores) in prize money.
The BBL teams are Adelaide Strikers, Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Renegades, Melbourne Stars, Perth Scorchers, Sydney Sixers, and Sydney Thunder.
The Sydney Sixers defeated the Perth Scorchers in the final of the BBL 2020-21 by 27 runs. After beating the Melbourne Stars in the BBL 2019-20 season, they had won the BBL 2019 title too.
BBL Format
All teams will play each other twice during the round-robin stage. The top five teams on the points table will qualify for the playoffs. The playoffs format is as follows:
Eliminator Match – 4th ranked team vs 5th ranked team
Qualifier Match – 1st ranked team vs 2nd ranked team
Knock-Out Match – 3rd ranked team vs Winner of Eliminator Match
Challenger Match – Loser of the Qualifier Match vs Winner of the Knock-Out Match
Final Match – Winner of the Qualifier Match vs Winner of the Challenger Match
BBL 2020-21 Stats and Records
Before you make your BBL Dream11 team for today’s match, let us have a quick look at the best player stats from the 2020-21 season.
| BATSMAN | TEAM | MOST RUNS SCORED |
| Alex Hales | Sydney Thunder | 543 |
| James Vince | Sydney Sixers | 537 |
| Josh Philippe | Sydney Sixers | 508 |
| Chris Lynn | Brisbane Heat | 458 |
| Colin Munro | Perth Scorchers | 443 |
| BOWLER | TEAM | MOST WICKETS TAKEN |
| Jhye Richardson | Perth Scorchers | 29 |
| Mark Steketee | Brisbane Heat | 24 |
| Ben Dwarshuis | Sydney Sixers | 24 |
| Wes Agar | Adelaide Strikers | 22 |
| Tanveer Sangha | Sydney Thunder | 21 |
3. Dream11 T20 Men’s Cricket World Cup
When the T20 Cricket World Cup tournament is in progress, to create the best team for Dream11 today, you need to know about the performance records of all the players from all the participating countries.
Basic Facts
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup (formerly known as the ICC World Twenty20) is an international Twenty20 cricket tournament organised by cricket’s governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC). Presently, 16 teams are competing in the World Cup. The top 10 teams based on ICC rankings are selected at the time of the given deadline, and six more teams are selected through the T20 World Cup Qualifier.
The tournament has typically taken place every two years (except for 2018). Also, the T20 World Cup, 2020 could not happen due to COVID-19, when India was supposed to host the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2021. However, the matches were moved to the United Arab Emirates and Oman as a COVID-19 precaution.
Teams
India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, England, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, South Africa Bangladesh, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Namibia, Oman, and Papua New Guinea.
Format of 2021 T20 Cricket World Cup
Watch how the teams are playing in the Round 1 stage as well as in the Super 12s stage. Make sure that you keep track of all the matches played before creating today’s Dream11 teams in the various contests.
Let us take a look at the format.
Round 1 Stage:
Round 1 stage features eight teams divided into two groups of four. In the group, each side will play three games. Four teams will advance from each of the two groups to compete in the Super 12s phase with the top 8 countries.
Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Namibia
Group B: Bangladesh, Scotland, Oman, Papua New Guinea
Super 12s Stage:
Based on ICC T20I rankings, the following teams have already qualified for the Super 12: India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, England, West Indies, Afghanistan, South Africa.
Group 1: Australia, South Africa, West Indies, England, Winner of Group A, Runner-up of Group B
Group 2: Pakistan, New Zealand, India, Afghanistan, Winner of Group B, Runner-up of Group A
Super 12s Format: Six teams from each group will compete in a round-robin format, with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the semifinals. Before moving on to the semifinals, each team will play five Group matches.
Semi-final 1: Winner of Group 1 vs Runner-up of Group 2
Semi-final 2: Winner of Group 2 vs Runner-up of Group 1
Final: Winner of Semi-final 1 vs Winner of Semi-final 2
The T20 Cricket World Cup is an exciting time for the fans to play Dream 11. However, you must follow certain strategies to select your today’s Dream11 team and win money.
Top Dream11 Tips and Strategies to Win Real Money
Dream11 at the end of the day is using your knowledge about cricket and winning some money by participating in contests. If you keep in mind the strategies mentioned below, you will become a Dream11 expert in no time.
1. Playing Selective Matches
If you are a complete beginner, it would be tempting to play a lot of contests in different matches. However, do not make this rookie mistake. If you want to make more money, you should avoid playing every match. Firstly, it is very challenging to follow several tournaments and matches closely every day and keep track of the player stats. This will lead you to make more errors in your fantasy team selections. Secondly, these selection errors will create losses for you financially.
2. Creating a Team of All-Rounders
If you want to have long term success in Dream11, your Dream11 team predictions must have higher percentages of accuracy. One way to achieve this is to keep a close eye on all the all-rounders in the tournaments that you are following. Seasoned all-rounders excel in batting, bowling and fielding. For example, Ravindrasinh Jadeja is an excellent all-rounder on the Indian side.
If your team comprises more all-rounders, then their performances with the ball, the bat, and in the field will earn you more fantasy points. Selecting an all-rounder as your Captain or Vice-Captain in your Dream11 team for today is also a good idea because they will earn you 2x or 1.5x more points.
3. Selecting the Right Contests
Every cricket match featured in Dream11 has a certain number of fantasy contests under it. These contests are based on entry fees, available spots, prize pool, and the number of teams with which you can join. Even though you can take part in any contest, we would advise you to make your today’s Dream11 prediction in contests that meet the below criteria.
- Enter only the contests that offer a success rate of 50% or more to the participating teams. This should be your first criteria. For example, if 1,000 fantasy teams participate, 500 teams will win some prize money.
- Enter contests that allow 20,000 contestant spots or lesser. This will create a higher chance of winning for you because you are competing with a reasonable number of people.
- Enter contests that have the ‘Guaranteed✔’ sign, on Dream11. This means that these contests will happen regardless of whether or not all the available contestant spots are filled.
4. Creating Multiple Fantasy Teams
If your finances allow it, creating multiple fantasy teams for a single contest is a good Dream11 prediction strategy. Within 100 credits, it is not always possible to have all your favourite players in one single fantasy team. But, if you participate in a contest with two or three teams with different player combinations, you will be broadening your chances of winning money.
Also, make sure that you have a look at the other contestants’ fantasy teams. This will give you a clear idea of which cricketers feature prominently in those teams. This information can be useful while selecting your Dream11 today’s match teams.
5.Playing Multiple Contests
Again, if playing in multiple contests with multiple teams is within your budget, then you should do it. Playing in multiple fantasy cricket contests will optimize your chances of winning more money. However, if you are a novice, we suggest that you first make your Dream11 predictions for today’s match in practice contests. You can take part in multiple practice contests that are free or in very low entry fee contests to get a clear idea of how the Dream11 contests work. This will also help you sharpen your prediction skills.
Common Mistakes to Avoid in Dream11 Cricket
1. Not Doing Enough Research
Not doing enough research before the cricket match of your choice will cost you more dearly than anything else. Never make the mistake of randomly selecting your fantasy teams without proper information from research. You must also get the latest information from reputable sports websites like cricbuzz or espncricinfo. It might be appealing to create fantasy teams based on who your friends and peers are selecting. However, you must make your Dream11 team predictions for today’s match purely based on good research alone.
2. Spending All Your Money in One Go
While it must be your ultimate goal to win money in Dream11, you must not spend all your funds allocated for Dream11 fantasy cricket in one go. Instead, follow these tips to make Dream11 predictions today without spending all your money.
- Enter contests that have low entry fees.
- Resist the urge to always enter the high risk- high reward contests.
- Do not transfer large amounts of money into your e-wallet in Dream11.
- Set reminders for yourself to take part in selected contests.
- Seek professional help if you need to control your overspending tendencies.
Conclusion
If you are looking to play some fantasy cricket, then Dream11 is the right fantasy sports platform. The rules to play are straightforward, and anyone can play. You can earn real money by putting all your cricket knowledge to use in fantasy contests. They also have good customer service to assist you if you have any questions or problems while playing.
We hope that our comprehensive guide to playing fantasy cricket will help you with your today’s match Dream11 prediction strategies. Have a safe and fun experience on Dream11!
