Australia leggie Adam Zampa reckons decision to skip cash-rich league turned out to be crucial going into T20 WC
Australia’s Adam Zampa against England on Saturday. Pic/AFP
Australia spinner Adam Zampa said that pulling out of IPL 2024 was the “best thing” to do coming into the T20 World Cup, adding that skipping the league also allowed him to spend time with family and tend to injuries.
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Zampa played a pivotal role Australia’s 36-run win against arch-rival England at the Kensington Oval here on Saturday with the leg-spinner getting rid of both the openers, Phil Salt and Jos Buttler, in quick succession after they had given the defending champions a solid 73-run start in the chase of 201-7.
“Yeah, obviously made that decision a little while ago to pull out of the IPL and I thought it was the best thing for me moving forward into this World Cup,” said Zampa at the post-match press conference.
Family man Zampa
“I was tired, I had some niggles and I’m a family man as well, so trying to put them first over work sometimes is pretty important.
“I actually am a bit of a slow starter and I put in a little bit of extra work. My body feels great and I just did that bit of extra work. Maybe a bit more bowling than I usually would before a tournament like this. And then the practice games and everything just feels nice at the moment,” he added.
With the win, Australia climbed to the top of Group ‘B’ with four points, while England slumped to fourth.
Cricket pundits have started drawing comparisons between Zampa and the legendary Shane Warne, following the former’s crucial role in Australia’s title-winning run at the the 2021 T20 World Cup.
‘Captains backed me’
He also stepped up in big matches during the ODI World Cup last year, but Zampa, 32, said the thought had never crossed his mind. “Never really thought of it that way, to be honest. Like I had to fight for my position in the team for a long time. And then I was lucky enough to have captains that backed me, [Aaron] Finch really backed me in. And it’s the same with [Pat] Cummins and [Mitchel] Marsh as well.
“And under this coaching management, my role is clear; I’ve done the work over time to build up that skill level.
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