CPL 2020 | Dream11 team for grand finale between Trinbago Knight Riders and St Lucia Zouks
Trinbago Knight Riders taking on St Lucia Zouks in the CPL 2020 Final means that the summit is a Fantasy Player’s dream, with all the big guns set to feature in the grand finale. But as we, here at SportsCafe, found out moments earlier, assembling an all-star team can be excruciatingly painful.
So many warnings, so many hurdles, so many restrictions. How is someone supposed to construct a team knowing not all of Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Mohammad Nabi, and Roston Chase can be fit into the side? How does someone gather the emotional courage to leave out their favourite players just in order to strike the right team balance? Managing a Fantasy Team can be a really, really tough job, and let no one tell you otherwise. The complexity of the task demands taking help and that’s exactly why we’re here to provide assistance. We give you our Dream11 team, the side, which according to us, is best equipped to garner maximum points.
Captain - Sunil Narine - 10.5 cr
The all-rounder has been phenomenal in CPL 2020 and has made stupendous contributions with bat and ball - With the bat, he’s averaged close to 30 and has struck his 144 runs at a SR of 148.45, and with the ball, he’s taken his 6 wickets at an ER of 4.55. Given he operates in the powerplay with both bat and ball, he is, unlike any other player, guaranteed to have an extended run out on both fronts. Narine’s consistency coupled with his destructive ability makes him the best and the most obvious candidate for captain.
Vice-captain - Lendl Simmons (9 cr)
In CPL 2020, Lendl Simmons has scored more runs than every single TKR and SLZ player, and his form, of late, has been freakish and borderline scary. He has passed 25 in 4 of his last 5 knocks and among his recent knocks are the 54* versus Jamaica in the semis and his 96 against the Patriots in match 23. Aside from the fact that 9 crore for him is a steal, that Simmons is an opener makes him an ineludible pick.
Wicket-keeper - Andre Fletcher (9 cr)
Andre Fletcher (14) has inflicted at least 5 more dismissals than every other keeper in CPL 2020 but while the points he’ll earn you behind the stumps, in itself, makes him an attractive pick, the runs he scores along with that makes the right-hander a hot property. Having scored more runs and inflicted more dismissals than his counterparts in this game, picking Fletcher as the keeper is pretty much a no-brainer.
Batsmen
Darren Bravo (8.50 cr) and Tion Webster (8.50 cr)
44*, 41*, 52, 36. Nothing much to see here, just the last four knocks of Tion Webster and Darren Bravo combined in this CPL. Both batsmen, throughout the course of this CPL season, have been epitomes of consistency and whilst other teams have struggled to string together runs, so concrete have been these two that they have basically ‘shielded’ Pollard from even getting opportunities all season (that's why we've omitted Pollard from our side, btw). The bewilderingly cheap 8.50 cr price tag on the duo, as you’ll see, does wonders to our Dream11 team.
All-rounders
Mohammad Nabi (10.5 cr), Roston Chase (10 cr) and Javelle Glen (8 cr)
This is where the purchase (steal) of Bravo and Webster plays a part. What that has done is basically allowed us to accommodate the two best players from the Zouks, Nabi, and Chase. The two all-rounders have been the heartbeat of the Zouks and the sole reason for their fairytale run, and the numbers prove the same - Chase: 203 runs at 40.60 with the bat and 8 wickets at ER of 4.88 with the ball; Nabi: 154 runs at 22.00 with the bat and 12 wickets at ER of 5.08 with the ball. They are two forces of destruction - one bats up-front and bowls at the death and the other bowls up-front and bats at the death. Not to forget Javelle Glen either, a handy all-rounder who can bat a fair bit and has taken 7 wickets at an ER of 7.88 this season. What more do we need?
Bowlers
Fawad Ahmed (8.5 cr), Akeal Hosein (8.5 cr) and Khary Pierre (8.5 cr)
That spinners have dominated CPL 2020 is a universally known truth, so what better way to give ourselves the best chance to win than by opting for an all-spin attack in our Dream11 team? On Tuesday, the semi-finals day, spinners accounted for 16 of the 18 wickets to fall on the day and the trio we’ve picked, Fawad, Hosein, and Pierre, picked 7 of TKR’s 8 wickets. Add Narine, who we already have in our team, to the mix and that’s a 100% clean sweep. Even minus Narine, Fawad, Hosein, and Pierre have picked 72% of TKR’s wickets in their last two games. Roping in them for a combined credit fee of 25.5 cr is the wisest and the smartest decision any Fantasy Player can make.
SportsCafe’s Dream11 Team for CPL Final
Sunil Narine (c), Lendl Simmons (vc), Andre Fletcher (wk), Roston Chase, Darren Bravo, Tion Webster, Mohammad Nabi, Javelle Glen, Fawad Ahmed, Akeal Hosein, Khary Pierre