Islamabad United vs Karachi Kings, PSL 2021, Match 22: Fantasy Preview

The champions of last year have had a middling tournament so far. With three wins in six games, Karachi Kings are the fourth-placed side on the table. Islamabad United, on the other hand, are right at the top with five wins in seven games.

The two sides last met in February this year when Islamabad came out on top. Sharjeel Khan’s century went in vain as a blitzkrieg from Alex Hales and contributions in the lower-order by Iftikhar Ahmed and Hussain Talat saw Islamabad through. Of all these players, Hales is the only one to not travel for the resumed league.

Ground Details and Team Combination

Pacers have been absolutely dominant in Abu Dhabi since the resumption of PSL 2021, having picked up 68% of the wickets. This is in line with the numbers at this venue in the last three years. Since the tournament has resumed, four of the top five wicket-takers have been pacers.

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. Based on algorithms, we have come up with one team.

Captain Suggestion

If you want to play it safe, look no further than Babar Azam. He has averaged a whopping 114.3 this season and has scored runs every time. Though one can criticise a 63-ball 85 from an intent perspective, but the fantasy players will not complain. 

If you are looking for a left-field choice, you can check out the players whom the criclytics has projected to earn the most fantasy points in the game.

Here are the top-10 picks as per criclytics projected points-

X-Factors

As an all-round option, Shadab Khan is a must-have in the XI. Though he has not done much with the bat lately but his contributions with the ball and in the field offer a lot of points.

Based on the recency bias, do include Colin Munro and Thisara Perera in the XI.

If you are short on credits, here are the top value for money picks from among those who are likely to feature in the XI-

You can check out more in-depth projections and key match-ups for this match here.