Adam Zampa wants to focus more on playing for his country rather than playing in franchise leagues, especially after missing out on a big-money deal.
The Australian leg-spinner made a strong impression during his first Indian Premier League (IPL) season in 2016 with the now-closed Rising Pune Supergiant team. He quickly showed his skills in the world’s top T20 league.
Zampa’s standout moment was when he took 6 wickets for just 19 runs against SunRisers Hyderabad, one of the best performances in IPL history. This boosted his confidence. Looking back, Zampa talked about the excitement of playing against big-name players like Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers during his debut season.
Adam Zampa reflects on his rollercoaster IPL journey
Zampa had early success in the Indian Premier League, including getting Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) top players, AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli, out. This made him believe his IPL career would take off. But even with a strong start, the season turned out to be tough.
His six-wicket performance against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) initially raised his hopes, but Zampa didn’t land the big contract he was hoping for. He went through a mix of emotions, from excitement about playing in the IPL to frustration over not getting many chances.
In his debut season in 2016, Zampa played five matches, but he had a hard time being consistent and spent a lot of time on the bench, which was frustrating for him. Despite these challenges, he still saw the IPL as a valuable experience.
Just get me home. I am not playing: Adam Zampa on Indian Premier League debut
Adam Zampa shared on The Final Word Cricket Podcast: “I made my debut, bowled to Virat Kohli for the first time, got AB de Villiers out twice in two balls, and then had the six-wicket game right after. I thought for sure they’d keep picking me because of that performance. But then, I went back, had a rough season, and never got the big payday from the IPL.”
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He added, “I had some international experience before my IPL debut and always wanted to be part of it. I went through a lot of emotions, from how amazing it was to be there to feeling frustrated and just wanting to go home because I wasn’t playing.”
Have a look at Zampa’s IPL career
Adam Zampa, the leg-spinner, has played in 20 matches across three Indian Premier League seasons, taking 29 wickets with an average of 19.24 and an economy rate of 7.99. His best moment was when he took 6 wickets for just 19 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in his debut season with Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) under Steve Smith’s captaincy.
In his last season, Zampa took 8 wickets for Rajasthan Royals (RR) with an average of 23.50 and an economy rate of 8.54. However, he decided not to play in the IPL 2024 due to personal reasons.
RR had retained Zampa before the IPL auction last year with a contract worth INR 1.5 crore. Zampa has also played for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and the now-defunct RPS in the IPL.