Another World Cup Carnival is around the corner. A total of 10 teams are vying for the most coveted trophy in the 50-over format. Meanwhile, fantasy cricket players across the country will also be prepping to strike gold during the 46-day tournament.
How to choose the perfect playing 11? What logic should be applied while choosing your captain? Questions are aplenty. Here’s Divyateja, one of the finest players on HalaPlay with winnings of over ₹14 Lakh (majority of it coming from Fantasy Football), answering some of the questions and sharing a few of his strategies that made him a successful fantasy sports player.
Tell us a little bit about yourself – where you grew up, went to school, and what else you do apart from playing Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS)?
Hi, I am Divyateja, better known as Cyberpunk_XI on HalaPlay. I grew up in Vizianagaram, a town in Andhra Pradesh. I’ve completed my graduation in CS from NIT Rourkela and am currently in Noida pursuing a job as a MERN Stack Developer at an IT company. Apart from DFS & job, I also work as a freelancer in developing cross-platform apps.
When did you start playing on HalaPlay? And how did you come to know about it?
I remember vividly the day I signed up on HalaPlay – 9th April, 2017. A friend from my college introduced to HalaPlay, and I am thankful that he did as the journey has been pivotal in my financial and personal growth.
Tell us about your journey so far – the difficulties and success you had playing DFS at HalaPlay.
Fortunately, I tasted success in the Grand League at the very beginning of my journey. I won first place in Reverse Fantasy Grand League which then fetched me ₹1000. The success put me on course for playing more leagues, and the earnings initially were just ok-ok until I started playing fantasy football. I’m now an avid football fan, and that is because of HalaPlay. While I was researching a lot on football, I fell in love with both the sport & the fantasy game.
Fantasy football has always paid good dividends, thanks to robust HalaPlay points system & availability of football statistics.
What kind of preparation and research goes behind while choosing players for your team? Do you have a set of criteria for choosing players?
DFS is not a game of chance. It involves thorough research and getting more familiar with fantasy gaming. I always analyse teams which win the Grand Leagues. It will help you understand their strategies. And another thing is a stress-free mind. It is of utmost importance while you select your DFS team.
Coming into team selection, I look at plenty of things before picking my playing 11:
- Is it a T20, Test, or ODI?
- How important is the match for both teams?
- Who are the in-form players?
- How will the pitch behave?
I also do a thorough analysis of players – the recent form, comparing the strength of batsmen and the weaknesses of opposition bowlers. E.g. Rohit Sharma has a habit of struggling in swinging conditions, so if the opposition has picked a swing bowler, I may drop him from the playing 11.
As for fantasy football, I weigh in many factors before locking my team:
- Who is the home team?
- What are the chances of a clean sheet?
- The number of successful passes a player has made
- The average number of tackles and clearances
- From which side, left or right, the teams attack more to know where the assists come from
I also follow a formation which has five defenders, four midfielders, and a forward.
What is your strategy while choosing a captain for your team?
For cricket, it depends on the format. Opening batsmen have a good chance in T20s, while in ODIs & Tests, those batting at No. 3 & No. 4 are key. For football, I usually go with one of the central defenders unless Lionel Messi is playing. But again, depending on conditions, choosing an attacking midfielder like Kevin De Bruyne or Eden Hazard is also a good option.
Which was your best day on HalaPlay, and what do you remember about it?
Not a day but the whole month of January 2019 is so memorable as I had made profits of more than ₹1,00,000. I played mostly fantasy football, and the rewards were beyond my expectations. And again, the positive mindset and mood are so important, as they played a huge role in my success.
Our players have purchased cars, cameras, and phones with the money they have won. If you don’t mind, can you share what you did with the earnings from HalaPlay?
We are a middle-class family, and I just kept saving all my earnings for my sister’s marriage. She got married last month, and HalaPlay earnings have proven so vital for the marriage expenses. I can’t thank HalaPlay more, also my friend who introduced me to DFS and the positive influence of god.
Can you name some of your favourite Leagues on HalaPlay?
I mostly play Football Grand leagues (Monsters & Rumble) and 3-Member Leagues (₹399, ₹1999, ₹3999). The favourite League was ₹350 entry which is no longer on the platform. I hope that HalaPlay will bring it back.
Most of our DFS players use HalaPlay app. Can you share your experience on playing in the app?
The HalaPlay App v.1 had few problems initially, but v.2 was good – excellent User Interface (UI) and more robust features.
I loved the app so much that I adopted a few of the UI features from it in my app development. Overall, a 5-star for HalaPlay App.
As winning DFS takes a lot of time and dedication, how do you balance your work life with playing DFS?
Time is the most important thing, and its effective utilisation can reap the rewards. It’s logical to play only a few matches when you’re busy. I play a lot on the weekends. If you have developed a standard procedure for selecting the team, the process becomes easy.
What advice do you have for new DFS players?
The scope of earnings is high at HalaPlay. But this shouldn’t tempt you to pour lots of money with no prior preparation. Be constructive and go step by step; start small and go big. Intuitions play a part while selecting team, back it up well with your research and you’ll do well. Still, you might have bad days, but that shouldn’t hamper your preparation for the next match.
If you win, cherish it but If you fail, learn from it. Take a break if you are not winning frequently. As I said earlier, a stable mind is the utmost priority. Good luck, lads!
Where do you see yourself down the road with regards to DFS? Do you want the DFS to be a long-term thing for you?
DFS is such an entertaining game, and I don’t think I’ve to quit even when days tend to become little busier. For me, it’s like a relaxation after work where you can showcase your team managing skills. It helped me to cope with failures and has given me a sense of hope that if today is a failure, there’s a better tomorrow. So, I always push myself to do the best, and then success follows.
If you found the above article helpful and worth sharing with your friends then go ahead and do that right away so they can get some useful insights of not just Fantasy Cricket but Fantasy Football as well. If they haven’t played the game on HalaPlay, make them signup using your referral code so they can earn ₹100 bonus instantly while you get ₹50 just after they make first deposit of ₹50 or more.
