The Cricket Draft, powered by Wisden, is an all-new ground-breaking fantasy game to be run alongside the Vitality T20 Blast – your team will need a strong captaincy option and we’ve put together a few choices for you to consider.

Squad management is key in The Cricket Draft – with £1.5m to play with, you need at least 15 players in your set-up. Your captain plays a key role in the starting XI for each gameweek, with his points total for the fantasy team doubled.

We’ve taken a close look at each of the 18 teams in the T20 Blast and picked out a potential captaincy option from each side for your fantasy XI.

Birmingham – Carlos Brathwaite

Remember the name? Brathwaite can send them miles with the bat and serves as a threat with his medium pace too.

Derbyshire – Wayne Madsen

The 37-year-old veteran remains the batsman to watch out for in the Derbyshire set-up. He was his side’s leading run-scorer last year and sparkled in 2019 when he was the fifth-highest run-getter in the tournament.

Durham – Ben Raine

A strong all-round option, Raine’s 167 runs in the Blast last year came at an average of 33.40 and a particularly eye-catching strike rate of 146.49.

Essex – Jimmy Neesham

The hard-hitting New Zealand all-rounder can strike them big down the order and offers points potential with his bowling, too. He has T20 Blast experience courtesy of stints with Kent and Derbyshire.

Glamorgan – Colin Ingram

An experienced campaigner with 280 T20 appearances and four hundreds to his name – three of them were hit for Glamorgan.

Gloucestershire – Glenn Phillips

Phillips has impressed on the T20I stage for New Zealand – 25 matches have returned 506 runs at an average of 28.11, a strike rate just below 150 and high score of 108.

Hampshire – Mason Crane

The England leg-spinner took nine Blast wickets last year at a lowly average of 22 and is a strong wicket-taking threat in the middle overs.

Kent – Daniel Bell-Drummond

Bell-Drummond was in phenomenal touch for Kent last year, blasting his way through the Powerplay and finishing as the leading run-scorer in the tournament.

Lancashire – Matt Parkinson

Parkinson may feature in England’s white-ball set-up this summer, hurting his availability in the Blast, but he could be a fine captaincy option when he does play for Lancashire – 49 T20s have seen him return 80 wickets at a phenomenal average of 16.08.

Leicestershire – Callum Parkinson

Matt’s twin brother can bowl too – the left-arm spinner took 10 wickets in Leicestershire’s run to the quarter-finals last year.

Middlesex – Stevie Eskinazi

Eskinazi was Middlesex’s leading run-scorer in the Blast last year, racking up 413 runs at an average above 40 and a strike rate closing in on 150.

Northamptonshire – Wayne Parnell

The South African left-armer has international pedigree with the ball and can strike some hefty blows with the bat, too.

Nottinghamshire – Alex Hales

Widely regarded as one of the finest batsmen on the T20 franchise circuit, Hales’ continued exile from the England side provides him more opportunity to exhibit his skills in the Blast.

Somerset – Tom Banton

Banton’s pyrotechnics at the top of the order were thrilling to watch in the 2019 tournament and he remains an exciting prospect for county and country.

Surrey – Laurie Evans

The leading run-scorer in the 2018 Blast, Evans was key in helping Surrey to last year’s final and is a model of consistency in this format.

Sussex – Travis Head

Head has struggled so far this year in the County Championship, but he shouldn’t be ignored as a captaincy option – he averages 30.52 with the bat in T20s and can bowls some handy off-breaks too.

Worcestershire – Sandeep Lamichhane

The Nepalese wunderkind is an exciting signing for Worcestershire and could prove to be handful for batsmen up and down the country.

Yorkshire – Lockie Ferguson

One of the fastest bowlers in the world, Ferguson will be at the forefront of Yorkshire’s Blast hopes this year.