Birthday special: Adam Zampa – Continuing the leg-spin legacy

Leg-spinner Adam Zampa has become a permanent feature in the limited-over Australian squad. The New South Wales-born spinner made his debut in 2016 and it would be safe to say that it has not been smooth sailing for Zampa in the international arena. Despite being in and out during the initial phase of their career, Zampa has performed well for the Aussies and has also stamped his authority in the Australian line-up in both ODIs and T20Is.

Talking about his numbers in ODI cricket, the 29-year-old has played a total of 65 matches in the 50-over format in which he has scalped 101 wickets. The leg-spinner bowls with an economy of 5.5 and also has four four-wicket hauls in ODI cricket. Similarly, Zampa has represented Australia in 61 T20I matches and has taken 70 wickets in that format as well, with an impressive economy of 6.79. He has also bagged a five-wicket haul in the 20-over format.

Born on March 31, 1992, the 29-year-old has also made his name in franchise-based cricket as he has represented several franchises including Sydney Thunder, Adelaide Strikers, Melbourne Stars, Guyana Amazon Warriors, Rising Pune Supergiant and Royal Challengers Bangalore in BBL, CPL and IPL.

Talking about his career in the biggest cricketing league of the world, Zampa has played under the leadership of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli during his IPL stints. In 14 matches in IPL, the spinner has scalped 21 wickets. He also grabbed a six-wicket haul against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2016 while representing RCB

With the ICC T20 World Cup slated to be played in Australia this year, Zampa would want to stand up to the expectations of his team and management and would want to perform well for the hosting nation.