#TFGFantasyPundit: Pick the best Fantasy 11 for T20 Asia Cup 2016 opener-- watch out for the dark horses

TO ALL YOU Fantasy Cricket Addicts out there...

We at The Fan Garage have launched our own Fantasy cricket helpline -- TFG Fantasy Pundit.

The experts from our editorial team will guide you to pick the best fantasy team and assist you in your quest to emerge victorious. 

We start with tomorrow's India v Bangladesh game.

OVERVIEW

INDIA AND BANGLADESH will kick-off the T20 Asia Cup on Wednesday, 23 February at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. The wicket is likely to play slower and will bring the spinners into focus. 

Both teams have some quality spinners and they should be able to generate some handy fantasy points. With both teams also having explosive batsmen at the top, expect some fireworks. Seamers with the ability to change the pace at regular intervals will be a handful.

Here’s the probable 11 that could take to the field tomorrow:
 
INDIA: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni/Parthiv Patel, Yuvraj Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya, Ravi Ashwin, Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah
 
BANGLADESH: Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, M Mahmadullah, Shakib al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, N Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mustafizur Rehman 
 
Players who cannot be ignored for this round

Virat Kohli -- In current form, this premier batsman should walk into any fantasy cricket team. Kohli loves the big stage to perform and also has a great record against Bangladesh. Miss out on him at your own peril.
Rohit Sharma -- At the moment, Rohit is in the form of his life. Opening the batting, he will be a threat for any opposition. The wicket in Dhaka will assist the batsmen and Rohit might go hell for leather from the word go.
Shakib Hasan -- This genuine all-rounder arguably generates consistent fantasy points regardless of where he plays. He will be the home sides go-to-man with both bat and ball. Pick him to stay safe in fantasy cricket.
R Ashwin -- The wily off-spinner from Chennai is bowling beautifully and is brimming with confidence. With the wicket offering purchase for the spinners, expect the crafty spinner to be amongst the wickets. 

Dark Horses for the round
Jasprit Bumrah -- His ability to bowl yorkers at the death is likely to fetch him some crucial wickets. He is nippy and can be a tricky customer to handle with his awkward action.
Shabbir Rahman -- He has been enjoying his amazing run with the bat in the limited overs format lately. Besides batting, he can also be a handy contributor with his bowling. 

TFG Pundit XI: V Kolhi (VC), R Sharma(C), S Dhawan, I Kayes, Shakib al Hasan, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, J Bumrah, M Mortaza, N Hasan, S Rahman 

NOTE: The budget for this round can be challenging. Fitting all the marquee players is almost impossible. The wicket-keeping spot is where one can try to be a little smart. Skipper Dhoni suffered muscle spasm due to which Parthiv Patel might get a look in. Bangladesh's keeper Nurul Hasan too might be seen in the playing XI.

Happy Hunting!!!

FANTASY PUNDIT ALERT (24/02/2016): Considering the rough weather in Dhaka, we could have a shortened game on our hands. And, Ashish Nehra might be a better bet in comparison to R Jadeja in the fantasy pundit XI. Similarly, Bangladesh’s key bowler Mustafizur Rahman could bowl more overs than his skipper Mashrafe Mortaza.

FANTASY PUNDIT TOP PERFORMERS: In our column above, we had mentioned that it would be a wise move to pick Rohit Sharma as your captain and we hope most of you would have cashed in on our advice. The opener scored (83). Our pick Ashish Nehra too was the highest wicket taker for India (3). We had also picked Bangladesh's Shabbir Rahman in the dark horse category and he ended up as the highest scorer for his side (44). 

(Disclaimer: The TFG Fantasy Pundit 11 has been picked after taking into consideration various factors and analysis. The writers and editors of The Fan Garage are not responsible for any decisions taken by readers of this article while playing any fantasy league game. This article has been written with the sole purpose of providing a direction to choosing a good Fantasy team for the match mentioned in the article.)