Most fantasy cricket games reset every match — pick 11, the game ends, start again. Season Fantasy is different: you build one squad at the start of The Hundred and manage it across the entire tournament. It rewards long-form thinking about franchise cricket, not just a single match-day punt.
What Is Hundred Season Fantasy?
Hundred Season Fantasy is CricketDream's tournament-long game mode for The Hundred Men's Competition 2026. You pick one squad of 11 players from the 8 competing franchises — Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave, SunRisers Leeds, Trent Rockets and Welsh Fire — and that squad earns points across all 34 matches from 21 July to 16 August. Your cumulative total decides your spot on the global leaderboard.
Unlike a regular Fantasy XI, where you build a brand-new team every match, Season Fantasy gives you 100 transfers to use across the whole competition. Every swap is a real decision — do you drop a big name after one quiet outing, or trust the pick that made your squad in the first place?
How It Works — The Basics
- Go to Season Fantasy and click Build Your Squad
- Select 11 players from any of the 8 Hundred franchises within a 100 Cr budget
- Meet the minimum split — at least 1 wicket-keeper, 3 batters, 1 all-rounder, 3 bowlers
- Set a captain (2× points) and vice-captain (1.5× points) — both free to change before every match
- Your team locks at each match start time — save changes before the toss
- Points accumulate across all 34 matches; the leaderboard tracks your running total
- Use your 100 transfers to react to form, injuries or franchise team news across the tournament
Captain and vice-captain changes cost nothing. With only 8 franchises and 34 matches, reviewing your armband before every single game is the single easiest way to bank extra points for free.
Why 8 Franchises Changes the Strategy
The Hundred is a shorter, sharper competition than a 12-nation World Cup — 8 franchises means the player pool per team is smaller and each squad's best players are easier to track. That makes early scouting more valuable: with fewer teams to watch, you can realistically follow every franchise's form through the group stage rather than spreading your attention across a dozen countries.
It also means franchise depth matters. Overseas stars and English internationals often overlap across squads, so building around 3–4 premium picks and filling out the XI with reliable mid-price all-rounders and bowlers tends to work better than chasing every headline name.
Transfer Strategy — Making the Most of 100
100 transfers across 34 matches works out to roughly 2.9 per round — more breathing room than a typical World Cup format, but still not unlimited. Use them deliberately: save a few for the business end of the group stage when playoff qualification is on the line and franchise selections tighten up.
Transfers are billed on the net change to your squad in each window, not on every swap you try. We compare the squad you started the window with against the squad you finish with, and only count players that actually changed. Swap A out for C and later change C for G, and that's one net transfer (A out, G in). Swap A out for C and then bring A back, and it costs nothing — so you can experiment freely before a match and only your final XI is charged.
Wait for team news before locking in. Only your squad at match lock is billed, so trying combinations and reverting them during the window is always free.
- Hold a player through one quiet match — a single low score rarely means a form collapse
- Move fast on confirmed injuries or franchise squad changes — an unused player scores 0
- Rotate players out and back in within the same window for free — only your final squad at lock counts
- Bank 8–10 transfers for the run-in to the eliminator and final, when every match matters
- Watch overseas player availability — franchise squads can rotate players in and out mid-tournament
Building Your Initial XI
Your starting squad matters more than any single transfer. A well-built initial XI means fewer panic swaps once the tournament is underway.
- Spread picks across multiple franchises — don't over-invest in one team in case they miss the playoffs
- Prioritise all-rounders who contribute with both bat and ball — the highest points ceiling per match
- Pick an anchor captain early — someone like Sam Curran or Marcus Stoinis who can lead your points most matches
- Fill the budget tail with reliable domestic English players guaranteed regular game time
- Check recent franchise T20 form over reputation — The Hundred moves fast and form shifts quickly
Captain Picks — The Free Lever You Must Use
Because captaincy changes cost nothing, there's no reason to leave a default captain in place. A well-timed armband swap — putting it on a franchise's best all-rounder in a favourable matchup — can be worth 30–50 bonus points in a single match.
- Review your captain before every match — it takes seconds and costs nothing
- Favour all-rounders who score with both bat and ball over single-discipline specialists
- Check the venue — some Hundred grounds are notably batting- or bowling-friendly
- Consider whether the match is day or night — dew can swing which side is favoured while chasing
- In the eliminator and final, lean on proven big-match performers over in-form group-stage picks
Scoring — How Points Work
Hundred Season Fantasy uses the same T20 scoring system as CricketDream's regular fantasy formats. Every run, wicket, catch and fielding contribution converts directly into points. Your captain earns 2× those points; your vice-captain earns 1.5×.
- Batting: +1 per run, +2 boundary, +4 six, +15 half-century, +30 century
- Bowling: +25 per wicket, +10 maiden over, +15 three-wicket haul, +25 five-wicket haul
- Fielding: +10 per catch/stumping/run-out, +10 bonus for 3+ fielding credits in a match
- Bonus: +4 for being in the confirmed playing XI
- Captain: 2× all points | Vice-captain: 1.5× all points
Private Leagues — Compete with Friends
Hundred Season Fantasy also supports private leagues. Everyone uses their own global season squad, but a separate leaderboard tracks just your group. Create a league from Season Fantasy → Leagues and share the invite code to turn the whole tournament into a competition with your friends.
Quick Tips
- Never skip captain review — it's free and compounds across 34 matches
- Hold your nerve on premium picks through one or two quiet games
- Act fast on confirmed injuries or franchise squad changes — a benched player scores zero
- Spread your initial XI across franchises likely to make the playoffs
- Use early transfers to fine-tune your squad, then save the rest for the business end of the tournament
Build your Hundred Season Fantasy XI — free to play on CricketDream.
Build My Squad →