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          Fantasy Picks: Lean on Lendl Simmons and Brandon King for CPL 2020 opener

          • ESPNcricinfo staff
          Aug 17, 2020, 06:28 PM

          August 18 - Trinbago Knight Riders v Guyana Amazon Warriors, Tarouba

          Our XI: Brandon King, Colin Munro, Lendl Simmons, Darren Bravo, Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Fawad Ahmed, Imran Tahir, Pravin Tambe

          NOTE: We might not always be able to tip you off about late injury (or other relevant) updates, so do keep an eye out for the toss before making your final picks.

          Captain and vice-captain: Lendl Simmons and Brandon King

          King and Simmons were the top two run-getters in the 2019 edition of the tournament. While King scored one century and three half-centuries to post 496 runs at an average of 55 and a strike rate touching 150, Simmons wasn't far behind with 430 runs in one innings fewer. The fact that both open the innings for their respective teams and, therefore, can take advantage of the Powerplay increases the likelihood of them fetching big points for you.

          Hot Picks

          Sunil Narine: Narine may not have bamboozled batsmen with his mystery spin in the last couple of years but he still remains one the best T20 bowlers around. Add to this his explosive batting at the top of the order and you have a complete package.

          Imran Tahir: Wristspinners always bring you value and, in turn, fantasy points in T20s. Last season, Tahir was not only the second-highest wicket-taker with 16 scalps from nine games but also the most economical. He may be into his 40s but don't put it beyond him to do a repeat.

          Nicholas Pooran: One of the best young West Indies batsmen around, Pooran has shown a glimpse of what he can do with the bat on numerous occasions, leaving one thinking if this would be his season. Given that he also keeps for the Warriors, you are bound to get some points for catches and stumpings too.

          Value picks

          Pravin Tambe: Tambe, who will turn 49 in a couple of months, is the first Indian to be picked in a CPL team. He has proved his worth in the IPL and with not many in the CPL having prior experience of facing him, expect Tambe to pull off a surprise or two with his fast legbreaks.

          Fawad Ahmed: Another legspinner because that's how this format rolls. In the last two editions, no one has taken more wickets than Ahmed's 32 - only Tahir has equalled him - and he can once again be a valuable pick.

          Point to note