In the 20th century, cricket was simply about watching and enjoying matches on the television in your living room while witnessing the highs and lows of your national team. It slowly moved away from being just a country vs. country contest as franchise cricket came into existence in the first decade of the 21st century. It was a concept that was adopted by India and the other cricket-playing nations from the western world. Online fantasy sports is another notion that was non-existent in India in the 20th century. However, today fantasy cricket is very popular and the percentage of cricket lovers who play fantasy sports is growing.
How did fantasy sports become a thing in the cricketing world? What is the history of this novel concept? What are the rules of this game? How do apps like Howzat function? Read on to find out the answers to all these perennial questions and much more.
- History of fantasy sports
The origin of fantasy sports can be traced back to the 1940s, but it became official in the 1960s. For the most part of the second half of the previous century, fantasy sports was a known concept only in football and baseball.
During the 2003 Cricket World Cup, ESPN and Joy Bhattacharya launched the Super Selector game and that was the official entry of fantasy cricket. The game became an instant hit among the fans as 5 million cricket viewers played the game during the tournament. This led other popular broadcast networks like BBC and Sky to launch their own versions of the fantasy cricket game.
However, the game’s popularity dwindled and cricket fans had to wait for almost a decade to play fantasy cricket again.
- Concept of fantasy cricket
In fantasy cricket, contestants have to create teams by selecting a total of 11 players from both teams playing in a particular match in the real world. Contestants pick players who they believe will perform the best in the match and win them the highest number of points.
- Basics of fantasy cricket
Fantasy apps like Howzat give fantasy contestants a platform to participate in cricket matches played all over the world. You can join fantasy leagues in international cricket as well as domestic cricket and T20 and T10 leagues in various parts of the world.
The points system is one of the basic features of fantasy cricket. Points are awarded for players who are part of the playing XI. Hence, it is important to select players who will play the game. Keep an eye on the final teams announced after the toss.
Points are awarded for every run scored, as well as every four and six. A solitary point is awarded for each of the occurrences across formats. More points are awarded for a half-century and a century in the shorter formats of the game than the longer format. Points are deducted if a batter is dismissed for a duck in the match.
Bowling points include points for wickets. On Howzat, 25 points are given for a wicket in ODIs, T20s, and T10s, and 16 points are awarded in Test cricket. A maiden over has fantasy value in limited-overs cricket but not in Test cricket.
Just like the half-century and century milestones, points awarded for 4-wicket hauls and 5-wicket hauls are more in T20s than in the longer formats like 50 overs and Test cricket. However, the same number of points are given for catches, run-outs as well as stumpings in all the formats of the game.
A good economy rate yields result in fantasy cricket only in the shorter formats, and understandably so because the scoring rate is irrelevant when the players play in whites. The same rule is applicable to the strike rate. A higher strike rate doesn’t mean a bonus point will be awarded, but points are deducted for a strike rate lower than 80 in ODI and T20 cricket.
The captain gets double the points and the vice-captain gets 1.5 times the points as other players get for the same performance. Thus, their selection is crucial in fantasy leagues.
- Features of the Howzat fantasy app
Howzat offers several unique features like the Beat the Legend challenge and various bonuses and offers. As a fantasy contestant, if you score more points than cricket legends like Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, Kumar Sangakarra, and Kieron Pollard, you win massive cash prizes.
The Howzat app has a simple user interface and scores are updated on a real-time basis, which helps you to track your points at all stages of the cricket match. It also offers you a welcome bonus once you make your first deposit on the app. The app provides the fastest withdrawal service, which allows you to withdraw your winnings to your bank account very quickly.
Currently, there are about 100 million fantasy players in India playing fantasy cricket. The cheap internet prices have led to a meteoric rise in internet penetration in the country and that has boosted the fantasy cricket industry’s growth. With over 800 million sports viewers in the country, the sky is the limit for fantasy sports in India.
You too can start your journey in the world of fantasy sports right now. Don’t wait anymore. Go for a fantasy cricket game download from the Howzat website on your mobile phone and utilize your knowledge of the sport and your gaming skills to take home big cash winnings! Happy gaming!
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