By Duong Huynh 
Man, lemme tell ya how I tackled this Dream11 team for Bangladesh vs Ireland today. Started yesterday afternoon when I finally got time after walkin’ the dog. Pulled up my phone, opened the Dream11 app, and just stared at that blank team sheet feelin’ overwhelmed.
The Research Madness Begins
First thing I did? Hopped over to my messy notes app where I jot down player stuff. Scrolled through last week’s Bangladesh vs Afghanistan highlights on my laptop while stirring pasta for dinner – almost burned the sauce! Noticed Shakib looked sharp with the ball. Made a mental note: “Must pick if fit.”
After eating, piled up cricket stats websites on my tablet:
- Searched “Ireland T20 records against spin” (big weakness!)
- Checked recent scores – Litton Das has been crappin’ out lately, but Tanzid smashed 47 last game
- Saw Andy Balbirnie’s strike rate is toilet-tier against left-armers
- Rubbed my eyes when I saw Paul Stirling averages 8 against Bangladesh bowlers in last meetings
Cross-referenced injury reports while my coffee got cold. News flashed: “Taskin Ahmed doubtful”. Groaned loud enough my wife yelled “You good?” from the other room.
Building the Damn Team
Time to actually pick players. Started plugging names in around 11 PM feeling half-asleep:
- Locked in Shakib immediately (captain vibes)
- Picked Harry Tector as VC after seein’ his consistency numbers
- Got too cute picking Gareth Delany over Curtis Campher – mistake!
Budget ran out fast. Realized I had ZERO all-rounders. Cussed softly, deleted three players, and started over.
Made coffee #2. Focused this time:
- Prioritized Shakib & Campher as dual all-round threats
- Dropped pricey Mehidy for economical Rishad Hossain
- Added Mustafizur after confirming he’d bowl death overs
- Punted on Lorcan Tucker – his keeping points add up
Changed captaincy 4 times before settling with Shakib. Set 2 alarms for lineup announcements. Went to bed grinding my teeth over Ben White vs Mark Adair picks.
Game Day Panic Mode
Woke up to notifications buzzing like crazy. PITCH REPORT: Slow track, favors spinners. Scrambled to swap Adair out for White last minute. Finalized team sweatin’ over my phone at breakfast. Told my kid “Daddy’s working!” when really I was checkin’ Paul Stirling’s head-to-head stats against lefties again.
Hit submit 7 minutes before deadline. Felt weirdly empty afterwards, like “That’s it? After all that work?” Spent first 10 overs of match second-guessing everything. Turns out Shakib got out cheap – nearly threw my coffee cup. But Campher’s cameo later saved my sorry team.
Ended up in top 30% ranking somehow. Still kicked myself for ditching Taskin who took 2 wickets. Moral? Always double-check team news. Gonna watch highlights again tonight to see where I screwed up. Same circus next match probably!
yadanarbon 