We have India, West Indies, Bangladesh and Afghanistan in action this week with all three formats under the spotlight. Now is as good a time as any for Moneyball fantasy managers to go for their preferred player choices for the week. We are here to help with five players you need to back.
HAYDEN WALSH
Country: West Indies
Match/Series: Afghanistan vs West Indies T20Is
Hayden Walsh had a brilliant second ODI against Afghanistan on Saturday. The leg-spinner took some beating early on but came back to snare three wickets in the match. Walsh is a natural wicket-taker and led the bowling charts in the West Indies T20 League in 2019 with 22 wickets in 6 matches. T20Is suit his natural game and Walsh could be a good differential to choose.
MOMINUL HAQUE
Country: Bangladesh
Match/Series: India vs Bangladesh, Tests
With the big guns missing, Mominul Haque will lead Bangladesh in this Test series and he is also among the selected few you can blindly back from Bangladesh. In 36 Tests, Mominul averages 41.47 and has eight hundreds and 13 half-centuries. Even more compelling is the fact that his average shoots up to over 50 in Asian conditions.
ROHIT SHARMA
Country: India
Match/Series: India vs Bangladesh, first Test
Rohit Sharma is flying high at the moment. He can put no foot wrong after leading India to a series win against Bangladesh in the shortest format of the game. Earlier against the Proteas, Rohit opened the batting in Tests and silenced his critics with 529 runs at an average of 132.25. In 12 home Tests now, Rohit's average has shot up to 99.84, better than Don Bradman. Anyone sane would know whom to place their money on this series.
RAVICHANDRAN ASHWIN
Country: India
Match/Series: India vs Bangladesh
Ravichandran Ashwin and home Tests is an eternal love story reiterated countless times without getting boring. In 41 Tests, Ashwin has 249 Test wickets at home, coming at an average of 22.84! More importantly, he has 21 five-wicket hauls at home in this format. If you want to back one bowler, you now know who it is.
NICHOLAS POORAN
Country: West Indies
Match/Series: West Indies v Afghanistan, ODIs and T20Is
A high-quality finisher, Pooran had a stupendous ODI series where he scored a fabulous half-century to help West Indies seal the series in the second match. The left-hander is an underrated power player and should be one of your first choices for the remaining ODI and the T20I series. Across formats, Pooran averages 66.5 against Afghanistan and has two half-centuries in three innings.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Punit Paranjpe
