Adam Zampa has sent a powerful message to national selectors after taking three wickets for New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield having been overlooked twice for the Indian tour in the space of a few weeks.
The veteran spinner missed out on the original squad and was again overlooked on the weekend when selectors opted to bring in Queensland’s Matt Kuhnemann to replace Mitch Swepson who flew home for the birth of his first child.
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Kuhnemann has rocketed into contention for the second Test beginning on Friday with selectors keen to bring in a left-arm option after Ravindra Jadeja played a starring role in India’s first up innings victory.
The uncapped spinner was as shocked as anyone when he got the phone call, and the snub must have fired up Zampa who bowled beautifully on day three of the Shield game against Tasmania at the SCG.
The 30-year-old took 3-41 to help bowl the visitors out for 236 after the winless Blues reached 8/417 in their first dig before declaring thanks to another dazzling century from Daniel Hughes.
Zampa has long been considered a white ball specialist but he made his frustrations clear last month when he missed out on selection when initially told that he was doing everything right to make his Test debut.
Having starred for Australia on the international stage for so long, Zampa returned to the NSW side for the first time in years in late 2022 in a bid to impress selectors for the tour.
Instead, he’s still in Sydney where he will have the chance to bowl the Blues to victory on Tuesday after they chose not to enforce the follow-on.
“I was close. I got told from George Bailey and Andrew McDonald that it was one of the toughest (decisions) they had to make for the tour. I’m very disappointed, I would have loved to be on it,” he said last month.
“I thought with the way I’ve been going in international cricket in particular this was going to be my opportunity.
“That was the messaging I got six weeks ago, this could be a very good chance I could be on it. Now I’m not, I’m very flat about it.
“I was really excited to be on this tour. I thought I’d give it a crack and the messaging was my style of bowling might have been handy over there.
“I don’t know what’s next for me. It’s two-and-a-half years until the next subcontinent tour.”
