Daily fantasy cricket and football picks, written by editors
Captain picks, differential calls, pitch reads, weather watches and squad rotations - the kind of fantasy notes that win contests, with the reasoning shown. The newest guide walks new drafters through the FPL Draft 101 format Premier League USA published on 4 August 2026.
Hardik Pandya - Index 89
Mumbai's all-rounder has the highest expected impact ceiling in the fixture against Chennai. The conditions favour slower cutters, and his average against left-arm spin since the start of 2025 is 47.2 runs per dismissal.
Top five picks across formats
New: FPL Draft 101
Premier League USA's @plinusa explainer walked new drafters through the no-budget, on-the-clock format. The fantasy desk unpacks the draft order, the on-clock timer, the squad shape and the scoring differences.
Hardik Pandya
Wankhede, evening - pitch index 78, dew factor 0.6, all-rounder ceiling. Differential options thin out if Hardik rests.
Travis Head
Powerplay impact against new-ball swing, evening conditions. We rate him above the obvious names on this surface.
Ruturaj Gaikwad
Anchor role in a Chepauk chase. Lower ceiling but higher consistency if the surface grips in the second innings.
Kuldeep Yadav
Index: 76. Three different wrist-spin variations; his impact index goes up by 12% on slow surfaces.
Phil Salt
Index: 73. Keeper-batter with high boundary rate and a role at the top, regardless of first-ball shot selection.
Cricket scoring reference card
How the points are made. Keep it open on matchday.
Three low-ownership picks with high ceilings
Rajat Patidar
Selected by 3.4% of contest entries. Numbers on slow surfaces in 2025: 188 runs at a strike rate of 142.
Wanindu Hasaranga
Selected by 4.1%. Wrist-spin strike rate against left-handers since 2024: 12.4.
Rachin Ravindra
Selected by 5.8%. Anchor-batter with high catch-rate impact on the boundary.
Captain picks, daily
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