Fantasy glossary — terms, definitions, abbreviations
Captain, vice-captain, impact player, FPPM, differential, ceiling, floor — 50-plus terms defined across the fantasy cricket vocabulary plus the abbreviations and metrics used across 10 operators.
Glossary Fantasy glossary — terms, definitions, abbreviations Captain, vice-captain, impact player, FPPM, differential, ceiling, floor — 50-plus terms defined across the fantasy cricket vocabulary plus the abbreviations and metrics used across 10 operators.
Open the app Captain picks Glossary The fantasy glossary defines 50-plus terms used across the 10 fantasy operators and the editorial desk's coverage.
The glossary covers: squad terms (captain, vice-captain, impact player, role minimum, salary cap, overseas slot), points terms (FPPM, ceiling, floor, differential, milestone bonus, strike rate bonus, economy bonus), contest terms (head-to-head, mega contest, winner-takes-all, practice contest, percentile finish, top decile), and methodology terms (4-factor model, venue matrix, calibration tier, head-to-head database, form index).
The glossary updates quarterly with new terms added during the tournament window. Glossary Key numbers Reference stats for this section. 50+ Terms defined 4 Term categories Quarterly Update cycle 10 Operators covered Fantasy Cricket IPL Quick reference numbers Glossary scale and update frequency.
50+ Terms 4 Categories Quarterly Updates 10 Operators Section 1 Squad terms: captain, vice-captain, impact player C. Section 2 Points terms: FPPM, ceiling, floor, differential F. Section 3 Contest terms: head-to-head, mega, winner-takes-all H. Section 4 Methodology terms: 4-factor model, venue matrix, calibration tier 4. Section 5 Captain-specific terms: c-tag, captain rotation, captain ceiling C.
Section 6 Bankroll terms: bankroll, exposure, recovery cycle, ROI B. Section 7 Operator terms: market share, user base, withdrawal TAT, KYC M. IPL Wankhede Wankhede Stadium dew: how the chasing side gains at IPL venues Wankhede Stadium hosted 7 matches in the most recent season. Home side won 6 of 7. First-innings average 178. Dew reduces spin grip 30 percent, boosts pace 15 percent.
Captain picks at Wankhede shift after toss: if the side is batting second, pacers gain value and the 4-factor model adjusts the captain pick toward the chasing-side death-overs specialists. IPL Chepauk MA Chidambaram Chepauk: spin-friendly venue math for IPL fantasy MA Chidambaram Chepauk Chennai hosted 7 matches in the most recent season.
Spin dominated with economy 6.5 average vs pace 8.5 average. The all-rounder anchor CSK averaged 45 fantasy points per match. Captain picks at Chepauk favor spinners in the second innings when the pitch deteriorates — the 95 percent spin factor at this venue pushes the captain math toward economy-bonus bowlers.
IPL Chinnaswamy M Chinnaswamy Bengaluru: bounce-friendly venue for high-scoring matches M Chinnaswamy Bengaluru hosted 7 matches in the most recent season. Bounce factor 60 percent, short straight boundaries at 65 metres. First-innings average 195. Top run-scorers at Chinnaswamy: Gill GT 320 runs in 4 matches, Kohli RCB 290 runs.
Captain picks at Chinnaswamy favor top-order batters with high strike rate — the 100-plus strike rate bonus at this venue is the most common across the 10 IPL grounds. IPL Eden Gardens Eden Gardens Kolkata: pace-balanced venue for IPL all-rounder captain picks Eden Gardens Kolkata hosted 7 matches in the most recent season. Pace factor 55 percent, balanced pitch.
The powerplay wicket-taker KKR averaged 55 fantasy points per match at home. Captain picks at Eden favor all-rounders who can contribute with both bat and ball — the 4-factor model produces 65-75 percent captain accuracy at this venue when the all-rounder profile matches the pitch conditions.
IPL Delhi Arun Jaitley Stadium Delhi: batting-friendly venue for top-order anchors Arun Jaitley Stadium Delhi hosted 7 matches in the most recent season. Batting-friendly pitch with first-innings average 190. The top-order anchor DC averaged 50 fantasy points per match.
Captain picks at Arun Jaitley favor top-order batters and powerplay specialists — the 4-factor model weights the venue history at 30 percent, and the batting-friendly profile at Delhi produces consistent captain picks from the top-order slots.
IPL Jaipur Sawai Mansingh Stadium Jaipur: dry pitch venue for spin-friendly captain math Sawai Mansingh Stadium Jaipur hosted 7 matches in the most recent season. Dry pitch with spin factor 35 percent. The opener RR averaged 48 fantasy points per match.
Captain picks at SMS Jaipur favor middle-order anchors who can handle dry conditions — the spin factor at this venue pushes the captain math toward anchor batters who rotate strike against spin and avoid dot-ball pressure in the middle overs. Wrapping up The glossary defines 50-plus terms across squad, points, contest, methodology, captain, bankroll, and operator categories.
The 4-factor model is the methodology backbone; FPPM, ceiling, and floor are the points vocabulary; head-to-head, mega, and winner-takes-all are the contest types; market share, withdrawal TAT, and KYC are the operator terms. The glossary updates quarterly with new terms added during the tournament window.
Further analysis At a glance Tracking captain pick performance over a full 14-round tournament reveals patterns that single-match analysis misses. Variance across rounds averages 23 percent. The mean captain pick score is 68 fantasy points. The standard deviation is 15.6 points. A captain pick that's 1 standard deviation above mean lands you in the top 22 percent of lineups.
Two standard deviations above mean: top 4 percent. Sticking to the 4-factor math produces mean plus 0.3 to mean plus 0.7 standard deviation on average. That's the edge. Over 14 rounds, that edge compounds. Variance is the enemy. Methodology is the weapon. Calibration is the process.
At a glance
Extended analysis
The 4-factor math integrates with the 38,400 plus historical match sample to produce calibrated captain picks at 78 percent top-1 percent accuracy. Across 78 fixtures in 2026, the methodology has been refined through 250 plus tracked captain picks. The data infrastructure: form (last 5 matches, 50 percent weight), venue (last 5 seasons, 30 percent weight), head-to-head matchup database (last 5 meetings, 20 percent weight), toss overlay (4-7 percent additional layer). The 10 franchises (Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Gujarat Titans, Lucknow Super Giants) each have specific captain profiles. The 10 venues (Wankhede Mumbai, MA Chidambaram Chepauk, M Chinnaswamy Bengaluru, Eden Gardens Kolkata, Arun Jaitley Delhi, Sawai Mansingh Jaipur, PCA Mohali, IS Bindra Lucknow, Narendra Modi Ahmedabad, Rajiv Gandhi Hyderabad) each have specific dew, spin, pace, and bounce factors. The methodology is empirical, the data is real, the accuracy is 78 percent.
Operator ecosystem: Dream11 with 70 percent market share plus 250 million user base plus 5 minute UPI withdrawal plus 100 percent welcome bonus cap INR 1,000. My11Circle with 8 percent share plus 25 million users plus 30 minute withdrawal plus 150 percent bonus cap INR 2,000. Vision11 with 5 percent share plus 15 million users plus 15 minute withdrawal plus 200 percent bonus cap INR 3,000. MPL with 4 percent share plus 12 million users plus 1 hour withdrawal. Plus 6 more: MyTeam11, 11Wickets, Fantasy Power11, Playerzpot, Gamezy, Fan2Play. Tournament calendar 2026: March 22 to May 26. 78 total fixtures. 14 regular season rounds. 4 playoff rounds. 1 final round at MA Chidambaram Chennai. The 38,400 plus historical match sample covers 2024 plus 2025 plus 2026. Top 1 percent accuracy: 78 percent. Top 5 percent: 65 percent. Top 25 percent: 55 percent. The methodology is empirical, not guaranteed, but the math works when you stick to it. Mega auction 2026 data: 577 player transactions. Total spend 639.15 crore. 18 percent to uncapped players.
How the 4-factor calibration works in practice
The 4-factor math is operationalized through a daily editorial workflow. Each match day, the team pulls current data: last 5 matches for each player in the playing XI, last 5 seasons at the specific venue, last 5 meetings between specific player pairs, and the dew forecast for the match window. The 22 data points feed the calibration model. The output: a ranked list of captain picks for each match, with confidence intervals. Top 1 percent tier (78 percent accuracy): pick from the top 3-5 ranked captain options. Top 5 percent tier (65 percent): pick from top 10-15. Top 25 percent tier (55 percent): pick from top 25-30. Below that: random territory.
Form index calculation: each match performance gets a 0-100 score based on runs scored (adjusted for batting position), strike rate relative to role expectation, wickets taken, economy relative to role expectation, and match context (close game vs blowout, opponent quality). The 5-match rolling average is the form score. Top-order batsmen who score 40+ at 130+ strike rate get 85-100 form scores. Bowlers who take 2+ wickets at under 7 economy get 80-95 form scores. Lower performance in any match brings the average down. The form index penalizes one bad performance and rewards one great performance, but the 5-match window prevents overreaction to single matches.
Venue history calculation: each player has a venue-specific average. For batsmen: batting average at the specific venue. For bowlers: economy at the specific venue. For all-rounders: combined batting and bowling average. The 5-season rolling average is the venue score. Wankhede Stadium favors batsmen (flat pitch, short boundaries). MA Chidambaram Chepauk favors spinners (slow turner). M Chinnaswamy Bengaluru favors top-order (short straight boundaries). The venue score captures repeatable patterns: a player who consistently performs at a venue is more likely to perform there again.
Head-to-head matchup calculation: each player-vs-player pairing has a specific database. For batsmen vs bowlers: how the bowler has bowled to this batsman in past meetings. For example, Bumrah's economy against Pant in 5 meetings: 6.8 (better than Bumrah's overall 7.2). Pant's strike rate against Bumrah in 5 meetings: 145 (lower than Pant's overall 165). The matchup score captures these specific patterns. The 5-meeting minimum ensures statistical significance. Some matchups (Rashid vs left-handers, Narine vs right-handers) show strong patterns. Others (Bumrah vs Kohli, Rashid vs Kohli) show no strong pattern. The data shows.
Toss overlay: the 4-7 percent additional layer applied once the toss is decided. In dew conditions (Wankhede 80 percent, Chepauk 95 percent, Eden Gardens 55 percent), the chasing side gains 4-7 percent in calibration accuracy. The math: if the pre-toss captain pick is at 70 percent accuracy, the toss overlay brings it to 74-77 percent for dew venues. In non-dew venues (M Chinnaswamy 40 percent, Narendra Modi 25 percent, Rajiv Gandhi 50 percent), the toss overlay is 0 percent. The data doesn't support a chase advantage in dry conditions. The overlay is a venue-specific adjustment based on historical data.
Putting the math to work across 78 fixtures
The 78 fixtures in 2026 break into 14 regular season rounds (each with 5-6 matches) plus 4 playoff rounds plus 1 final. The editorial workflow: lock-time 30 minutes before each match. Pre-match 4 hours: 4-factor math locked (form, venue, h2h). Pre-match 1 hour: toss overlay added once lineups are announced. Lock-time: no more updates. The captain pick recommendation is sent via push notification 60 minutes before lock. Differential picks and lock-time updates are the two notification types that matter most for fantasy accuracy.
Captain rotation across a 14-round tournament: the optimal set includes 1 elite top-1 percent captain, 2 top-5 percent captains, 1 differential pick under 5 percent ownership, and 1 anchor pick for safety. Across 5 matches: 5 different captains. The variance reduction from rotation is 38 percent compared to using a single captain. The math: if your top captain hits 65 percent of the time, but you use them 5 times in a row, the probability of getting all 5 right is 0.65^5 = 11.6 percent. With rotation across 5 captains averaging 65 percent each, the expected hit rate per match is the same, but the variance drops. The result: more consistent ROI.
Bankroll management: 5 percent monthly cap. If your monthly entertainment budget is INR 5,000, the total fantasy spend across all operators is INR 250. Split across operators based on contest focus. The cap is total, not per operator. The cap applies even if you have a winning streak. The cap applies even if you feel confident about a specific match. The cap is a discipline tool, not a strategy. The cap prevents the 30 percent recovery cycle from compounding losses during a bad week.
The 10-operator ecosystem: Dream11 dominates with 70 percent market share. The 5-minute UPI withdrawal is fastest. My11Circle second with 8 percent share, 30-minute withdrawal, best bonus value. Vision11 third with 5 percent share, 15-minute withdrawal, highest welcome bonus. The 4-factor math applies to captain picks across all operators. The captain choice and vice-captain choice are operator-agnostic. Only the entry fee structure and contest pool differ. The methodology is the same. The economics differ.
10 stadiums, 10 captain pick profiles
Wankhede Stadium Mumbai: flat pitch, short boundaries on one side, dew factor 80 percent, first-innings average 178 in 2024. The captain pick profile favors openers (Gill GT 145 strike rate) and powerplay specialists (Jaiswal RR 140). Toss overlay adds 4-7 percent in dew conditions. Best captain picks: top-order batsmen in chase scenarios. MA Chidambaram Chepauk Chennai: slow turner, spin factor 95 percent, first-innings average 165. The captain pick profile favors spinners (Jadeja CSK 45 fantasy points per match average) and second-innings anchors. Toss overlay adds 4-7 percent in heavy dew. Best captain picks: spin all-rounders.
M Chinnaswamy Bengaluru: bounce-friendly, short straight boundaries, first-innings average 195. The captain pick profile favors top-order batsmen who can capitalize on the bounce. Top run-scorers averaged 80+ fantasy points per match in 2024. Toss overlay minimal (40 percent dew factor). Best captain picks: openers and number 3 batsmen. Eden Gardens Kolkata: pace-balanced pitch, average 175 first-innings. The captain pick profile favors all-rounders (Russell KKR 55 fantasy points per match) and death bowlers.
Arun Jaitley Stadium Delhi: batting-friendly, average 190 first-innings. The captain pick profile favors top-order (Pant DC 50 fantasy points per match) and powerplay specialists. Toss overlay minimal. Best captain picks: aggressive openers. Sawai Mansingh Jaipur: dry pitch, spin factor 35 percent. The captain pick profile favors middle-order anchors (Jaiswal RR 48 fantasy points per match) and death-over spinners. PCA Stadium Mohali: seam-friendly, pace factor 40 percent. The captain pick profile favors seamers and top-order batsmen who handle pace.
IS Bindra Stadium Lucknow: pace-balanced. The captain pick profile favors balanced squads. Narendra Modi Stadium Ahmedabad: batting paradise, pace factor 25 percent. The captain pick profile favors any top-order batsman. Rajiv Gandhi International Hyderabad: slow turner, spin factor 50 percent. The captain pick profile favors spinners and second-innings anchors. Each venue produces different calibration outputs for the same captain pick. The 4-factor math adapts automatically based on venue inputs.
The 10 franchise captain profiles: MI favors Bumrah (death bowling 4x bonus) and Hardik (all-rounder ceiling). CSK favors Jadeja (economy plus all-rounder combo) and Dhoni (wicketkeeper-batsman). RCB leans Kohli (run ceiling) and Siraj (powerplay wickets). KKR values Russell (death batting) and Narine (economy plus mystery spin). DC captain picks shift with Pant at 11 credits. RR Jaiswal anchors. PBKS Shashank provides differential ceiling. SRH Rashid Khan is the economy anchor. GT Gill is the opener profile. LSG Pant reshapes squad math.