How to pick captain and vice-captain, by form, pitch, and match-up
The captain slot is worth 2x the points; the vice-captain slot is worth 1.5x. The decision matrix below shows how to weight the three inputs that decide the slot.
Three inputs, in this order
Recent form
The last five-match rolling fantasy-points average. The single most predictive input.
Pitch and surface
A batting-friendly pitch shifts the input to top-order batters; a seaming pitch shifts it to seam-bowling all-rounders. See /pitch-report/.
Match-up
The head-to-head record against this opposition in this format. A batter who has scored against a particular bowler type is a stronger captain pick than one with a generic good record.
Suggested weights
| Weight | Input | Use when |
|---|---|---|
| 50% | Recent form (last 5 matches) | Always |
| 30% | Pitch and surface | Always |
| 20% | Match-up | Always, when the data exists |
Risk matrix: safe vs differential
| Profile | Captain slot | Vice-captain slot |
|---|---|---|
| Safe, high floor and low ceiling | The form batter or bowler | The second form pick |
| Differential, low floor and high ceiling | The match-up pick | The form pick |
| Balanced, medium floor and medium ceiling | The form + match-up pick | The pitch pick |
The safe choice
Pick the player with the highest 5-match rolling average who is also the top-order batter or the lead bowler on a pitch that suits their skill. Safe captains win Head-to-Head contests more often than they win Mega contests, because the field is shallower and a top-of-average performance beats the median.
The differential choice
Pick a player with a strong match-up who is owned by fewer than 15% of the field. Differential captains win Mega contests because they beat the field's median; they lose Head-to-Head contests because their floor is too low to win every time.
Vice-captain rule
Pick the safe captain's nearest comparable as vice-captain. The vice-captain slot is the fallback if the captain returns zero; a captain who returns zero is rare but not impossible (a batter who does not bat, a bowler who does not bowl).
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The /points-system/ reference is the underlying numbers. The /dream-team/ page applies this matrix to a season-best XI.
The three inputs, and why order matters
The captain pick is the only decision that doubles. The vice-captain pick is the only decision that multiplies by 1.5. Every other decision in the team builder changes the leaderboard by one run, one boundary, or one wicket at a time. The captain pick is where the leaderboard moves.
Input one is form. The last-five-match fantasy-points average is the most useful single number; the last-five-match batting average is the second most useful, and it matters more when the captain pick is a top-order batter. Form is read off the player reference on /player-stats/.
Input two is surface. A flat surface rewards batters, especially top-order batters who face the new ball. A turning surface rewards spinners and lower-order batters. A green surface rewards seamers and lower-order batters. Surface reads are on /pitch-report/, and the dew expectation at the named venue is part of the surface read.
Input three is matchup. Some batters have a stronger record against certain bowler types; some bowlers have a stronger record against certain batter types. Matchup reads are not always visible in the public stats, but the recent head-to-head between the named batter and the named opposition's lead bowler is.
Order matters because each input cuts the candidate list. Start with form; from the form-shortlist, surface narrows the candidates; from the surface-shortlist, matchup decides. If you start with matchup, you will often end up with a candidate whose form has dropped. The order on /how-to-play/ matches this logic.
The obvious cases are when all three inputs agree: form is up, surface is flat, matchup is favourable. The captain pick is then the obvious candidate, and the differential captain (the contrarian pick) is the one worth considering in a mega contest where the field is concentrated on the obvious choice. The mega-contest decision framework is on /mega-contest-strategy/.
Editorial methodology for the captaincy-desk framework
The captain-picks reference is a decision framework, not a tip sheet. We publish the role-by-role decision matrix, the 50/30/20 weight, and the risk matrix that produces the captain and vice-captain choices. The methodology is the same as every other page on myteam11play.com: name the source, name the verification date, and do not invent a pick.
For the 50/30/20 weight, the source is the in-app last-five-match fantasy average combined with the named pitch report. The 50/30/20 weight is documented here; the captain-picks reference does not adjust the weight for a single match without a written note explaining the adjustment.
For the role-by-role captaincy hit-rate, the source is the in-app leaderboard for the named tournament. We do not publish a hit-rate that the in-app leaderboard does not surface. The hit-rate is the median of the last-five matches, not the highest single-match score.
For the safe vs differential choice, the source is the in-app credit value plus the named pitch report. We do not publish a "this is the safe pick" line; the choice is the reader's own work inside the app. The matrix gives the inputs; the reader supplies the captain.
For the "verify before lock" note, the source is the in-app squad list on the day of the match. We do not publish a captain pick that the in-app squad list contradicts. The captain-picks reference records the verification timestamp and the source of the input.
For what we do not, the answer is publish a captain pick that the in-app player picker cannot produce. The captain and vice-captain are drawn from the in-app XI; we do not pick a player who is not in the squad list.
Update cadence: captain-pick weights and role hit-rates get a fresh review whenever the 50/30/20 weight changes, the role-by-role captaincy hit-rate changes, the named tournament changes, or the in-app player picker changes. The review date is in the footer of every page on myteam11play.com.
What we does not publish
The captain-picks reference does not publish a captain pick that the in-app player picker cannot produce. We do not publish a 50/30/20 weight that our captain-picks desk has not adopted. We do not publish a safe-vs-differential verdict that the in-app leaderboard does not surface.
We do not publish a captain pick that the in-app squad list contradicts. We do not publish a vice-captain pick that the in-app squad list contradicts. We do not publish a captain projection that the test account has not recorded.
Our role is the editorial coverage. The reader's role is the captain-pick decision. We does not substitute its editorial coverage for the reader's own decision; the reader can apply the 50/30/20 weight inside the in-app player picker. The verified entry route is at /app/.
How to verify the captain-pick decision yourself
Open the myteam11 app and navigate to the player picker. Sort the players by last-five-match fantasy average. The top three players should be the candidates for the captain and vice-captain slots. Compare the candidates with the candidates on the captain-picks reference; the candidates should match our captain-picks reading.
For the 50/30/20 weight, the in-app player picker should show the last-five-match fantasy average for each player. The weight is our reading; our captain-picks desk does not publish a weight that has not been adopted. The reader can apply the weight inside the in-app player picker.
For the pitch input, the named pitch report should be visible inside the in-app player picker. The pitch input is our reading; our captain-picks desk does not publish a pitch input that has not been adopted. The reader can apply the pitch input inside the in-app player picker.
For the match-up input, the in-app player picker should show the head-to-head record. The match-up input is our reading; our captain-picks desk does not publish a match-up input that has not been adopted. The reader can apply the match-up input inside the in-app player picker.
For the safe-vs-differential verdict, our captain-picks reading is published here. The reader can apply the verdict inside the in-app player picker. We do not publish a captain-picks verdict that our captain-picks desk has not adopted.
For what to do if the in-app leaderboard contradicts our reading, the answer is the in-app leaderboard is the canonical reference. The record is updated next time our desk reviews the leaderboard; the reader can verify the leaderboard inside the in-app player picker at any time.