Player roles — where the points actually come from.
Reading the system means understanding which skill the platform rewards in each phase. That starts with role allocation — a powerplay bowler on a slow Lucknow pitch is not interchangeable with a death-overs specialist, even if both have 'bowler' on their card.
The full read.
Why role beats reputation
The single biggest mistake in fantasy selection is picking by name. A blue-chip batter averaging 45 in international cricket can be the wrong pick for a specific T20 fixture on a slow Lucknow surface, because his strike-rate ceiling will be capped by the conditions. A less famous domestic-tournament player with a 165 strike rate against spin on the same surface can outscore him by 20+ fantasy points. The points system rewards what the role does in a specific phase — not the cumulative record across formats.
The five pure roles
- Opener (powerplay). Faces the new ball and the fielding restrictions. Highest strike-rate variance of any batting role. Value swings hard with surface type — flat tracks and short boundaries inflate the ceiling; green tracks and overcast skies suppress it. Role security depends on whether the team is batting first and whether the opener has been retained across the last 3–4 matches.
- Middle-order (phase 2 and 3). Accumulation phase. Lower variance, higher floor on most surfaces. The value comes from consistent boundary count and low dot-ball percentage, not strike rate alone. Middle-order batters who bowl part-time overs (Sundar, Stokes-type profiles) carry a hidden bowling-points uplift on platforms that credit part-time overs.
- Death-overs batter (phase 4). Six-hitting phase. Ceiling-only role. Role security is the lowest of any batting slot because teams rotate based on matchup. On platforms that weight six-hitting heavily, a death-overs specialist who gets 25 off 10 can outscore an opener who gets 45 off 30.
- Powerplay bowler (phase 1). Faces the top order with the new ball. Wicket probability is highest in this phase, and most platforms credit a wicket heavily. Powerplay bowlers on green surfaces and overcast conditions are the highest-floor bowling role.
- Death-overs bowler (phase 4). Yorker phase. Dot-ball probability matters more than wicket count. On platforms that credit dot balls and economy below 6 in the death, a death-overs specialist who goes 0/30 in 4 overs can outscore a powerplay bowler who goes 2/45. Read the platform's scoring table before assuming.
Combined roles: WK-Batter and All-rounder
Combined roles are valued differently across platforms. A WK-Batter who opens is more valuable than a WK-Batter who bats at 7, because the points come from the batting role. Same for an all-rounder who bowls 4 overs versus one who bowls 2 — the bowling points are typically what tips the all-rounder above two pure-role players in the same salary band. Read the scoring system before assuming role labels are equivalent.
Captaincy by role
Captaincy should follow the role with the highest expected variance in the match. On a flat deck with short square boundaries, that's typically a death-overs batter or an opener. On a green deck with overcast skies, that's typically a powerplay bowler. The captaincy read is the role where the floor–ceiling gap is widest, because that is where the multiplier (2× captain points) compounds the most when it hits.
For deeper captaincy framing — the floor/ceiling/ownership trade-off — read the selection primer. For a live captaincy read with named evidence on the next fixture, read the preview desk.
