FANTASY
Follow UsBarbados Royals will kick-start their CPL 2021 campaign facing St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots in the second match of the season. It is an interesting contest as the two teams occupied the bottom two spots in the points table last year but have beefed up nicely to start afresh in 2021.
We provide you with significant stats that can help you to build the most efficient Fantasy XI for this match.
Ground Details and Team Combination
All the 33 games of CPL 2021 will take place at St. Kitts’ Warner Park. The venue has been a host to nine T20s since 2019, including four T20Is and five CPL games in 2019.
It has been a ground with something for both batsmen and bowlers. However, a couple of high-scoring games have escalated the average run-rate here to 8.8, the second-highest amongst the nine T20 venues in the Caribbean since 2019.
Spin has taken only 1.7 wickets per innings here in the said period. But, a recent trend observed during West Indies’ home T20 season hints at a big role for spinners throughout this tournament.
Suggested Team
While you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing your own team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. You can use this tool to build your team with the help of algorithms. Based on your preferences, the platform will guide you to create the ideal fantasy XI.
Captaincy Suggestion
With his bowling and batting numbers on an upward curve, Jason Holder has turned into the quintessential seam-bowling all-rounder in T20 cricket. The Barbados-born averaged over 30 with the ball for six years in row between 2013 and 2019. Since 2020, however, that number has dropped to 19.6 runs per wicket. With the bat, Holder averages 25.9 in the last two years. He batted as high as number four last season and even though the Royals have enriched themselves with batting resources this season, Holder will have a role to play in both facets of the game. 
Our Criclytics Players Projector predicts Holder could score 14-20 runs and pick 2-3 wickets in this match
X-Factors
Since his debut in the league in 2017, Glenn Phillips has taken to CPL like a fish to water. No other opener has scored more runs than him in since the 2017 edition of the tournament - 1,323. He has been the highest run-scorer for his previous franchise, Jamaica Tallawahs, in each of the last three seasons and is now the Royals’ biggest hopes to resurrect their batting numbers.
Fabian Allen is the X-factor that every T20 side would want to procure. He plays the whirlwind cameos, bowls a tidy line and length and in the field, he plucks catches out of thin air. He may bat lower down the order but is a must pick solely for his left-arm orthodox spin which will come in handy against the Royals’ batting line-up loaded with right-handers.
Here are the top-10 picks as per Criclytics projected points -
Player Match-Ups: 
With three dismissals in 15 balls, Jason Holder has a clear edge over Chris Gayle. That, in fact, could be the reason why Gayle averages only 21 against Barbados, his lowest against an opponent in the CPL history.
Probable XIs:
Barbados Royals: Johnson Charles, Glenn Phillips, Kyle Mayers, Shai Hope, Jason Holder (c), Azam Khan (wk), Thisara Perera, Hayden Walsh Jr, Mohammad Amir, Raymon Reiffer, Oshane Thomas
St Kitts & Nevis Patriots: Evin Lewis, Chris Gayle, Joshua da Silva (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Asif Ali, Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Rayad Emrit, Fawad Ahmed, Sheldon Cottrell, Paul van Meekeren
