How Bench Auto-Substitution Works

Which matches have Bench Auto-Substitution?

It’s on by default for every match now. On the rare match where it isn’t, the team builder simply won’t show a Bench section, and your team works exactly as it always has.

Do bench players cost credits?

No. The 100-credit budget and the role minimums (1 WK, 3 BAT, 1 AR, 3 BOWL) only apply to your starting 11. Bench picks don’t count against your budget when you build your team.

What order are my bench players used in?

Priority order — Bench 1 is tried first for any dropped starter, then Bench 2, 3, and 4. A bench player only comes in if they themselves are confirmed in the real Playing XI, and if bringing them in keeps your XI legal (100cr budget, role minimums, max 8 from one side). If no bench player satisfies all three, that slot is simply left as picked — same as today, it scores zero.

What happens to my Captain or Vice-Captain if they don’t play?

If your Captain is out, your Vice-Captain becomes Captain (if they’re playing). If your Vice-Captain is out, whoever bench-substitutes into their slot becomes the new Vice-Captain. If both your Captain and Vice-Captain are out, the first eligible bench player to come in becomes Captain and the next becomes Vice-Captain.

If more than one of my other starters is dropped, which slot gets which bench player?

Your Captain’s own slot is always resolved first, then your Vice-Captain’s. Any other dropped starters are then worked through in a fixed order, and for each one we take the highest-priority bench player still available who keeps your XI legal. In practice this only matters when two dropped slots could both use the same top bench pick — whichever is resolved first gets it, and the other one falls back to your next-best fit (or is left as picked if nothing else qualifies). Either way, your final 11 is always fully legal.

When does this actually happen?

Only after your team is locked (match start) AND the real Playing XI is fully confirmed for both sides — never before. Until both conditions are met, your team stays exactly as you built it, and you can keep editing it right up to lock like normal.

Will I be told if my team changed?

Yes — you’ll get an in-app and push notification, and My Teams will show exactly what changed: which player was swapped for which, and whether the Captain or Vice-Captain tag moved.

What if the real Playing XI can’t be fully confirmed?

We normally wait for all 22 players (11 per side) to be confirmed before making any swaps. If, after lock, we can only confirm 20 or 21 of the 22 — almost always because one or two names weren’t in our records rather than any real doubt about who’s playing — we go ahead anyway using what’s confirmed, rather than leaving every team on that match untouched indefinitely.

Build your team and check if Bench is available for your match.