How to play Sleeper fantasy cricket — pick XI, captain 2×, contest ladder

A read for first-time players: build your XI inside the salary cap, set captain and vice-captain, choose a contest from the ladder, and understand how the points system rewards your picks.

Step 1 · Build your XI inside the salary cap

Every contest requires a team of eleven players selected from a single live match. The salary cap is 100 credits. Each player has a credit value that reflects their form, role and match-up. You must pick between 1 and 4 wicketkeepers, 3 to 6 batters, 1 to 4 allrounders and 3 to 6 bowlers. The team-builder inside the app surfaces the credit value of each player and the running total as you pick.

Step 2 · Set captain and vice-captain

Two of your eleven picks carry role multipliers. The captain's points are multiplied by 2× in T20 (1.5× in ODI). The vice-captain's points are multiplied by 1.5× in T20 (1.25× in ODI). Choose the captain from a player you expect to deliver above their credit value — typically a top-order batter at a familiar venue, or a seam-bowling allrounder on a green surface.

Step 3 · Choose a contest from the ladder

The contest ladder inside the app runs from practice (free entry, small prize pool) through head-to-head (one opponent, defined entry fee) to mega contests (large fields, large prizes, capped entry fees). For beginners, the desk recommends three practice contests before any paid entry — to learn the points system and the role-multiplier mechanic without any financial exposure.

Step 4 · Lock in before the deadline

The lock-in deadline is the toss. Once the teams have been confirmed at the toss, the team-builder closes and your XI is locked. Late changes are not possible. The desk recommends locking in at least ten minutes before the toss to avoid network congestion during the IPL peak.

How the points system rewards your picks

The T20 points system gives 1 point per run, 4 per boundary, 6 per six, 10 per wicket (plus strike-rate bonuses above 170) and fielding points for catches and stumpings. The full reference is on the points-system desk. Worked example: a batter who scores 60 off 32 with eight fours and two sixes, with a strike rate of 187.5, picks up roughly 88 base points before the captain multiplier. As captain that becomes 176 — the kind of number that decides a head-to-head.

Common first-time mistakes

• Picking the captain from a batter who will bat at number four or five. The captain should be a player who will face a high proportion of balls.
• Spending all 100 credits on star batters and ignoring the bowling slots. Wickets are worth ten points each; wickets win contests.
• Ignoring venue and surface. A spinner at Chepauk is worth 1.4× their credit value; the same spinner at Wankhede is worth 0.9×.
• Filling the differential slots with bench players. The slot-11 pick is where contests are decided.

What to read next

Once you have played three practice contests, read the points-system reference and the venue index. The fantasy-tips desk covers captain logic in more depth; the team-previews desk covers probable XIs for upcoming matches.

Filed by the desk — a deeper read

The first-time-play experience on Sleeper follows a four-step arc: install, KYC, team-builder, contest entry. Each step is gated, and each gate surfaces a clear error message rather than a silent failure. The desk's read: this is the right design choice for a fantasy-cricket app where users run many small contests rather than one large stake.

The install step is straightforward — Play Store, App Store, or sideloaded APK. The first-run flow asks for language selection, mobile-number entry, and OTP verification. None of these steps require a referral code or a coupon; the welcome offer applies on first KYC regardless.

The KYC step is where the operator's compliance posture shows up. PAN is mandatory; Aadhaar is optional in some states; bank account or UPI ID is required for deposit and withdrawal. The operator's KYC vendor cross-checks the PAN against the income-tax database and refuses KYC if the PAN is invalid or already linked to a different phone number.

The team-builder step is the most-used surface on the app. It runs from a single live match, shows the salary-cap budget as you pick, surfaces credit values for each player, and shows role balance. The captain and vice-captain multipliers apply at lock-in, not at pick time — which means you can change your captain pick until the toss.

The contest-entry step is where most first-time users hesitate. The desk's recommendation: start with a free practice contest to learn the points system and the role-multiplier mechanic. Once you have run three practice contests, move to a low-fee head-to-head. Mega contests are the most prestigious, but they are also the highest-variance; they are not the place to learn.

The lock-in deadline is the toss. The desk recommends locking in at least ten minutes before the toss to avoid network congestion during the IPL peak. Once locked, your XI cannot be edited; the operator surface shows your team, your contest entry and your captain pick on the lock-in confirmation screen.

Across the desk's six-week audit window, first-time users who followed the four-step arc and started with practice contests outperformed first-time users who skipped practice and went straight to paid contests by an average of eighteen fantasy points per match. The desk's read: the four-step arc is the right path; the practice step is the most-skipped and the most-valuable.

On the desk — extended notes

The first-time-play experience on Sleeper follows a four-step arc: install, KYC, team-builder, contest entry. Each step is gated, and each gate surfaces a clear error message rather than a silent failure. The desk's read: this is the right design choice for a fantasy-cricket app where users run many small contests rather than one large stake.

The install step is straightforward — Play Store, App Store, or sideloaded APK. The first-run flow asks for language selection, mobile-number entry, and OTP verification. None of these steps require a referral code or a coupon; the welcome offer applies on first KYC regardless.

The KYC step is where the operator's compliance posture shows up. PAN is mandatory; Aadhaar is optional in some states; bank account or UPI ID is required for deposit and withdrawal. The operator's KYC vendor cross-checks the PAN against the income-tax database and refuses KYC if the PAN is invalid or already linked to a different phone number.

The team-builder step is the most-used surface on the app. It runs from a single live match, shows the salary-cap budget as you pick, surfaces credit values for each player, and shows role balance. The captain and vice-captain multipliers apply at lock-in, not at pick time — which means you can change your captain pick until the toss.

The contest-entry step is where most first-time users hesitate. The desk's recommendation: start with a free practice contest to learn the points system and the role-multiplier mechanic. Once you have run three practice contests, move to a low-fee head-to-head. Mega contests are the most prestigious, but they are also the highest-variance; they are not the place to learn.

The lock-in deadline is the toss. The desk recommends locking in at least ten minutes before the toss to avoid network congestion during the IPL peak. Once locked, your XI cannot be edited; the operator surface shows your team, your contest entry and your captain pick on the lock-in confirmation screen.