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Points system: what fantasy points actually reward across formats.

Reading the points sheet is the cheapest competitive edge in fantasy cricket. Batting points usually reward strike rate and milestones more than total runs. Bowling points reward wickets, dot balls, and economy thresholds. Fielding points reward catches, stumpings, and direct run-outs. This primer walks through what every category actually pays.

Why it matters

The points sheet is a rulebook, not a summary.

Every fantasy platform publishes a points sheet for a reason. The sheet is the rulebook that decides which actions earn which points, which milestones trigger bonuses, and which XI shapes deliver above-captain returns. Reading the sheet changes your view of every player.

A

Reading before selecting

Open the points sheet before you select any XI. The bench is full of names whose role looks good until you read what the points sheet pays for that role.

B

Reading for captain math

The captain multiplier is meaningless without the multiplier base. A 2× captain on a 60-point match is a 120-point XI boost. A 2× captain on an 80-point match is a 160-point XI boost. The math starts with the sheet.

C

Reading after every patch

Platforms occasionally adjust milestone thresholds or change bonus weights. Re-read the sheet after every patch. Your XI built under the old sheet may be wrong-footed under the new one.

Batting points

How batting points are usually split.

Batting points split into three buckets: run points, boundary bonuses, and milestone bonuses. Most platforms add a strike-rate bonus once a batter crosses a threshold of balls faced.

ActionTypical pointsNotes
Run scored0.5–1Per run; usually the smallest line on the sheet
Boundary hit (4)+1 to +4 bonusStacked on top of run points
Six hit+2 to +6 bonusLarger bonus on flat, batting-friendly decks
Strike-rate bonus+2 to +8Triggered once SR crosses the platform threshold (commonly 130–150)
Milestone 25+4 to +8 bonusOne-off when 25 reached
Milestone 50+8 to +16 bonusStacked with milestone 25
Milestone 75+8 to +12 bonusRare in T20, common in ODI
Milestone 100+8 to +16 bonusCommon in ODI and Test, capped in many T20 sheets
Duck (certain formats)−2 to −4Applies to top-order batters in some sheets only

Bands vary across platforms and formats. Read the platform's own sheet for the exact weights and thresholds before you pick an XI.

Bowling points

How bowling points are usually split.

Bowling points reward wickets, dot balls, and economy thresholds more than overs bowled alone. The bonus shape incentivises wicket-taking plus containment, which is the same skill that wins real matches.

ActionTypical pointsNotes
Wicket taken+10 to +25LBW / bowled premium on some platforms
Dot ball+1 to +2Counts in some sheets only
Maiden over+4 to +8Powerplay maidens in T20 carry the highest use
Economy bonus (under threshold)+2 to +6Triggers when ER falls below the platform-defined boundary
Economy penalty (over threshold)−2 to −6Applies to over-quota bowlers on some sheets
Three-wicket haul+4 to +8 bonusStacked on top of the per-wicket points
Five-wicket haul+8 to +16 bonusStacked; rare enough to skew XI shapes when it occurs
Boundary conceded−1 to −2Applies on some sheets; never the dominant line
Fielding points

How fielding points are usually split.

Fielding points reward catches, stumpings, and direct run-outs. They do not reward standing at slip if the ball never comes. Pick fielders whose roles put them where the ball is most likely to land.

A

Catch

+4 to +8 per catch. Slip and gully count only when the bowler is generating edge; outfield catches scale with boundary pressure and conversion rate.

B

Stumping

+6 to +12 per stumping. Rewards wicketkeeper read and footwork against spin, and the bonus is large enough to move the keeper slot on its own.

C

Direct run-out

+6 to +12 per direct run-out. Rewards throwers with strong arms and clean technique. Catches that lead to a run-out at the non-striker's end are usually credited to the fielder, not the bowler.

D

Three-catch bonus

+4 to +8 bonus on some platforms when a fielder takes three catches. Stack the XI with catchers in conditions that produce edges.

E

Run-out assist

+2 to +6 per assist. Fielders in the inner ring collect more of these than cordon fielders; choose fielding positions that produce ball contact.

F

Dropped catch penalty

−2 to −4 on some sheets. Cordon fielders and keepers carry the highest dropped-catch exposure; balance their upside with the risk.

Composed player near the boundary adjusting a batting glove while watching warm-ups
Captain math

Captain multipliers built on top of the sheet.

The captain multiplier is a direct multiplier on the captain's points, not a separate category. A 60-point captain on a 2× sheet delivers 120 points to the XI; a 60-point captain on a 1.5× tier delivers 90. Read both the multiplier and the sheet before locking the captain.

Three reasons the multiplier is not the entire story:

  • The multiplier amplifies what the captain produces. If the captain produces a 30-point match, the multiplier does not invent points.
  • Some platforms tier the multiplier by contest type. Grand-league mega contests may use 2×; head-to-head and practice contests may use 1.5×.
  • Some platforms apply the multiplier only on certain ranks. Read the contest rules before assuming the multiplier is universal across your lineup.
Format-specific weights

How the sheet usually changes between formats.

The points sheet is rarely identical across formats. The same platform often runs a T20 sheet, an ODI sheet, and a Test sheet, and the weight distribution shifts with the format's playing tempo.

T20

Strike-rate bonuses trigger low (often 130). Boundaries pay high. Wickets carry the largest bonus points. Death overs are where the multipliers stack.

ODI

Strike-rate bonuses trigger higher (often 140). Milestones (50, 100) carry larger bonuses. Economy bonuses favor containment over wicket-taking.

Test

Milestones pay largest; strike-rate bonuses are rarely used. Maiden overs carry larger bonuses. Five-wicket hauls and ten-wicket match hauls are weighted heavily.

The Hundred

5-ball over weight shifts the sheet toward wicket-takers and dot-ball bowlers; powerplay incentives reward economical pacers.

Bonuses

Bonuses, not base points, are where the XI wins.

Base points (runs, wickets, catches) make the XI competent. Bonuses (strike-rate, milestones, three-wicket hauls) make the XI competitive. The most-picked XIs usually chase a high base-points tally; the most-rewarded XIs usually chase bonus stacks.

  • A 40-run innings with five boundaries and a strike-rate above 130 is worth more than a 40-run innings with two boundaries at 110.
  • A 2-for with one maiden over and a sub-six economy is worth more than a 3-for at 8.5 economy with no maidens.
  • A fielder with two catches is worth more than a fielder with one catch and a half-chance parried away.
  • A wicketkeeper with two stumpings is worth more than a keeper with three catches that came off outside edges.

Reading the sheet changes the player profile: a batter with a high conversion rate at boundary-frequent positions has a different expected return than a batter with a high run tally at boundary-rare positions.

Batter rehearsing against a fast bowler at a floodlit practice net
Penalties

Penalty lines and how they reshape the XI.

Penalty lines are less frequent than reward lines, but when present they are loud. A duck-out penalty on the top-order batters, a dropped-catch penalty on cordons, and an economy penalty on over-quota bowlers all shape the XI.

A

Duck penalty

Some platforms apply a duck penalty to top-order batters only. Middle-order and tail batters are exempt. The penalty makes high-credit, low-conversion top-order batters a real risk.

B

Economy penalty

Some platforms penalise economy above a threshold for over-quota bowlers. The penalty is small per bowler, but stacks in matches where the over-quota holds the seam.

C

Dropped catch

Cordon and keeper dropped-catch penalties make high-exposure fielders a calculated risk. Pair the fielder with a bowler generating edge, not with a bowler hoping for one.

Reading the sheet

Read the published sheet in three passes.

Three passes give you the entire sheet in five minutes. The first pass captures reward lines, the second captures bonus triggers, the third captures penalty lines.

1
First pass — reward linesUnderline every line that pays points. Note the per-unit weight. This is the structural backbone of the sheet.
2
Second pass — bonus triggersHighlight every milestone, threshold, and multiplier. Bonuses are where the biggest point swings happen.
3
Third pass — penalty linesUnderline every negative point line. Penalties are quieter than bonuses but reshape the XI.
4
Fourth pass — contest-specific modifiersSome platforms tier captain multipliers by contest type or apply leaderboard-only modifiers. Read the contest rules separately from the sheet.
Cricketer beside the pavilion tunnel holding a helmet and bat at night
Player index

Pair the sheet with the player index.

The sheet tells you what the platform pays for. The player index tells you which players are most likely to deliver those points. Read the sheet first, then run the player index through it as a filter.

When the sheet and the index disagree, the sheet wins. Player role is an explanation, not a guarantee. The sheet is the rulebook, the index is the cast list.

Open the player index
Reader FAQ

Questions on the points system.

Should I always pick a 2× captain slot?
Not always. Some platforms tier the multiplier by contest type. Read the contest rules for the exact multiplier before submitting the captain pick. A 1.5× captain on a 90-point match delivers 135 XI points; a 2× captain on a 60-point match delivers 120. Multiply the captain's expected points by the multiplier — do not chase the multiplier on its own.
What is the cheapest read on a new platform's sheet?
Run the four-pass audit. Underline reward lines first, bonuses second, penalties third, contest modifiers fourth. Five minutes per sheet is enough to understand the structural backbone.
How do bonus points change captain math?
A captain who clears a milestone (50 in ODI, 100 in Test) or hits a strike-rate bonus generates enough extra raw points that the 2× multiplier compounds above the average expectation. Bonus-heavy captains are the highest-upside captain pick in formats where milestones pay.
Are fielding points significant enough to shape the XI?
Yes. Across a six-match window, a fielder with three catches per match delivers 60–120 XI points more than a fielder with one catch per match, and a wicketkeeper with two stumpings per match delivers comparable uplift. Fielding config is not decorative; it is structural.
Reading order

Where to go from here.

Build the XI before reading the sheet — open the team-balance playbook Pin the captain math against the sheet Map sheet categories to player profiles Carry the sheet into the prediction desk

Read the sheet every contest.

Open your platform's points sheet, run the four-pass audit, then build the XI shape to match. Sheet, XI, captain, submit.

Carry into captain logic Compare options
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