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After an enthralling group stage filled with plenty of surprises and close games, with a few deserving teams missing out on Super 8 qualifications by a small margin, we've finally moved on to the Super 8 stages. New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan are the notable teams missing, with the USA and Bangladesh being the surprise entrants.
The USA and South Africa face off in the first Super 8 match on Wednesday, June 19, at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Antigua. It'll also be the first match of Set 5 of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Fantasy League. Managers will now be able to include up to five players from one team, with each set having not more than three matches from now on.
On that note, let's look at the best Fantasy Team for Set 5.
Transfer Deadline: 08:00 PM (IST) on Wednesday, June 19, and 10:30 AM (local).
Best Fantasy XI for Set 5 - ICC Men's T20 World Cup Fantasy 2024
Wicketkeepers: Phil Salt (ENG) ($8) vs WI and Quinton de Kock (SA) ($8.5) vs USA.
Batters: Gulbadin Naib (AFG) ($8) vs IND, Rohit Sharma (IND) ($10.5) vs AFG, and Brandon King (WI) ($8.5) vs ENG.
All-Rounders: Andre Russell (WI) ($8.5) vs ENG, Hardik Pandya (IND) ($9.5) vs AFG, and Marco Jansen (SA) ($8) vs USA.
Bowlers: Adil Rashid (ENG) ($9.5) vs WI, Anrich Nortje (SA) ($9) vs USA, and Arshdeep Singh (IND) ($7.5) vs AFG.
Booster Used: None.
Set Preview
This round has three fixtures, with South Africa and the USA playing in the first match at Antigua, followed by a clash between England and the West Indies at the high-scoring St. Lucia, and India locking horns with Afghanistan in the third one in Barbados.
The weather should be clear for all three matches, with a mild chance of rain in St. Lucia and Barbados, but not enough to affect the game's length. I don't plan to play my last remaining booster, Special Sixes, as of now, but that could change before the deadline.
Team Selection
In the wicket-keepers' department, I'm backing Quinton de Kock to finally come good at the top with the change of venues from the USA to the Caribbean, potentially changing his performance. He also adds plenty of fielding value behind the stumps. I've also backed Phil Salt over Jos Buttler due to his stellar record against and in the West Indies. He's also been very handy in the field so far.
Coming to the batters, Brandon King's more traditional style of cricket could see him score plenty of runs against England by surviving Jofra Archer's new-ball spell and making merry later on. Rohit Sharma has a solid record against Afghanistan, and if he gets going in the powerplay, it will be difficult to stop him.
Going up against the Indian seamers, I don't think the Afghanistan openers will be as effective as they have been so far, but Gulbadin Naib could be an effective pick. He has been used as a floater by Afghanistan, but he is expected to walk in at No. 3 and make use of the powerplay. He's also a very handy bowler in Caribbean conditions and a solid third batting pick.
Hardik Pandya has been one of India's best performers so far, and he gets a look-in along with the dangerous Andre Russell, whose increased bowling responsibility makes him a must-have.
Marco Jansen is a differential pick, and it's not guaranteed that he even makes it to SA's playing XI. However, the USA have had trouble against left-arm seamers, and Jansen's ability to extract bounce and score some runs lower down the order could see him earn plenty of points.
Coming to the bowlers, Arshdeep Singh's T20I stats indicate that he is a prolific wicket-taker, and despite his economy rate, I back him to outscore other Indian bowlers for the rest of the tournament. Adil Rashid is the No. 1-ranked T20I bowler, and for an England team where it's hard to pick the best bowling option, Rashid's experience and success make him the safest bet.
Lastly, Anrich Nortje has been one of the best bowlers in T20 WC history, with an insanely consistent track record of picking up wickets. It's doubtful if the USA batters will be able to handle his pace and bounce in the middle overs, and he's one of the only must-haves on this team.
Captaincy: There are plenty of quality captaincy picks on show, and one of the SA seamers against the USA or an Indian player against Afghanistan may be the way to go. However, I'm more interested in the high-scoring nature of the St. Lucia wicket, and Andre Russell's multiple routes to points make him my first-choice captaincy pick.
