Sport Pundit's IPL Fantasy Cricket League Review

Sports Pundit is sporting news portal that covers approximately 10 sports. Most importantly, cricket is on their list and it seems that they have accepted the greatest sport on this planet deserves an outstanding online fantasy game. To this end, Sports Pundit are busy promoting their IPL fantasy league that, in all fairness, is among the best cricket fantasy leagues you can find.

The interface is simple, the rules are simple and yet, the league incorporates most of the bells and whistles that can be found on better established and more popular fantasy league websites like that of the EPL and AFL.

The lowdown:

• Each player in IPL² is valued in stars, 1 star for the more obscure players and up to five stars (called "Star Picks" in the Sports Pundit world) for the high-flyers.


• Pick a team of 5 batsmen, 1 all rounder, 1 wicketkeeper and 4 bowlers, with a maximum value of 35 stars (not an easy task, let me assure you).


• Use up to 6 transfers each week of the season to earn maximum points.


• Score the highest number of points across the entire league on any given week and you’ll win the official playing kit of your favourite team.


• Score the highest number of points across the entire league at the end of IPL2 and you’ll win a trip for two to the ICC World T20 in England .

While I have a few reservations about the the value of certain players (eg. Mark Boucher and Jacob Oram, among others, are worth 5 stars and are apparently as valuable as Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya and Andrew Flintoff, while Virender Sehwag is only worth 4 stars), the five-star rating system makes it a lot easier to settle on the right combination at the outset. However, it will be interesting to observe how player values are updated based on their performances during the course of the tournament.

The Mini-league feature also allows players to participate in special private leagues and pit their managerial talents against that of their circle of friends. To this end, I have created The Match Referee mini-league. If you believe you have what it takes to challenge The Match Referee team, first register for the IPL Fantasy League, then join The Match Referee's mini-league (league Name: The Match Referee's Fantasy League and league password: thematchreferee).

Given that it seems Cricinfo will not be offering an IPL fantasy competition this year, this is your best chance to get one up on your friends and possibly win your way to England for the ICC World T20. See you there.