Guide
How to draft a balanced XI
Six spins, eleven picks. Some habits that help, from how the game itself works.
1. Think about the whole team, not the best name
A team’s score is 40% batting, 50% bowling and 10% fielding. Bowling carries the most weight, so an XI of famous batters with a weak attack is a poor bet. When a spin offers a great batter and a great bowler, and you have a place for either, the bowler is rarely the wrong choice.
2. Know which spots are still open before you spin
There are two opener spots, three middle-order spots, one keeper, two flex spots for all-rounders or spinners, and three fast-bowler spots. Early in the draft take the best player you see; later, check what is left. If the XI is full of batters, the last spins have to bring you bowlers, and a draw with few of them can leave a gap you cannot fill. The game will block a pick that would make your XI impossible to complete, and tell you why.
3. The keeper is a batting spot
There is only one keeper place, and the keeper is scored on his batting. A keeper who is also a strong batter is the most useful kind: it is a batting place you do not have to spend elsewhere.
4. Use the flex spots on purpose
The two flex spots accept all-rounders and spinners. Two all-rounders add batting and bowling to the XI at once. A spinner gives the attack variety. Many good drafts pick the second flex player late, taking whoever the final spin offers best.
5. Respins are for draws that do not fit
You get one respin of the nation or team and one of the era. Save them for a draw that is thin or has nobody for the spot you need, rather than a draw that is merely unexciting. In the Daily Challenge and in a friend’s challenge there are no respins, so every spin counts.
6. In the IPL, plan your overseas places
An IPL XI can hold at most four overseas players. Spend them where the gap is largest, and remember that Indian players fill the other seven places. A fifth overseas pick is blocked.
7. Read the result, then try a different idea
The result page tells you which part of your team cost you the most against the opponent. Use it: if bowling was the gap, try the next draft with bowlers first. If you want to test your ideas against a friend, Pick any XI lets you choose any eleven players and send them the link.
More background: what each position does, how teams are scored and the World XI you have to beat.
Last updated 8 October 2026.