I would prefer non-real players itself
Yes some like to use non-real players, may be because as you said it makes league more challenging and interesting... but most likes real players, because it gives more realistic feeling and also gives confidence about squad we having... plus it makes rate a player easier...
The reason is Team which get the top players will be stronger
I think having top players gives strong feelings about
team and help to keep intereste on league for longer periods... but in this League I will not allow to sign every top players in one team... teams have to go through tough transfer window to build a team... there will be no draft or auction in this League... when you launch club, you will have limited budget... once your signup done I will ask your players list you wish to sign through pm... once get list, I will sent you there wages and availability etc... like I set Virat's salary high as possible, may be he cost you 60-70% of your total club budget + he will not available full season... so this type of challenges will be created from start... so every club manager have to be smart and to know there local players well...
Have auctions for Home ground, coach, pitch type, even for the continents, stadium capacity etc to drain money from the managers.
Manager will eventually drain there bank balance... I seen lot of leagues, manager fight over unnecessary players, even he not fit in there lineup they want him for high price... the process of earning money will be slow and challenging, so to have atleast 5-6 top names in your club, than you have to be in top ranked for atleast 2-3 season straight...
Season 2.Each team retain 4, all others go into auction and continue your normal idea.
Team can retain as many players as they wish, even they can sign a player for 2-3 season straight, so they don't need to spend extra money to resign him again for new season... but the challenge is, can team will have same budget like last season?... no, it totally depends on your management skill...
The best part of cricket dynasty is that you can have your name on the captain sheet and you can never expect anyone particular player to play well or not, it will be full of surprise and fun. Don't take that away.
In this League, you can own a team... no Co-manager, all team build on your own likeness... there will be no limit on surprises in this League... how you build a team, which formats you more concrete more... depends on team budget, you might have to sign some young talent on your team... so you can never expect anyone particular player to play well or not...
