Selectors have missed a trick by not including Adam Zampa in Australia’s Test squad to tour India, says David Hussey.
The Melbourne Stars coach – who shares a captain/coach relationship with Zampa in the BBL – suggested the leg-spinner had been told he would be on the plane to India, only to be denied at the last minute.
Zampa played his first Sheffield Shield match in three years before BBL|12 kicked off, taking three wickets for New South Wales to stake his red ball claims.
But it was ultimately in vain, and Hussey believes Zampa’s Test career may be over before it's began.
“He played a red ball Shield game for New South Wales against Victoria at the Junction Oval just prior to the Big Bash starting and he bowled particularly well,” Hussey began on SEN’s Dwayne’s World.
“I think all reports from (Andrew) McDonald and George Bailey (was that) he was going to be going to India.
“Unfortunately for Adam he didn’t get the nod, but personally I think he would do an excellent job. Not too dissimilar to Anil Kumble, who was a fine bowler for India for many a year.
“Purely a sub-continent selection, I think he would have done a great job. But it would seem with his snub that his Test aspirations have probably passed him by.”
Hussey’s comments follow a similar tone to recent ones from Zampa, who too implied he’d been told otherwise for the India tour.
“I thought with the way that I've been going in international cricket in particular that this was going to be my opportunity (to play Test cricket),” Zampa said, per cricket.com.au.
“And that was the messaging I got six weeks ago as well that this was going to be a very good chance I could potentially be on it but now that I'm not, I'm very flat about it and it's time to just move on from it.”
Instead of Zampa, selectors opted for Nathan Lyon, Ashton Agar, Todd Murphy and Mitch Swepson as the quartet of spinners in the 18-man squad.
At 30 years of age, Zampa is still yet to make his Test debut, despite being one of the finest white ball spinners Australia has produced. Hussey believes his charge had the attributes to be able to assert himself in India.
“I’m a little bit biased… but the skillset there, he bowls fast, he bowls with good overspin, he can turn it both ways and he really attacks the stumps, every time he bowls a ball the batsman is playing and bring the close fielders into play,” Hussey added.
“LBW, caught behind, caught bat-pad, bowled so many different dismissals are in hand. I thought if he had got the nod and got the opportunity to play Test cricket in India, I don’t think he would have shamed himself at all, I think he would have done exceptionally well.”
Australia will embark on a four-Test tour of India when the series starts in February. Pat Cummins will look to lead the nation to its first Test series win in India since a 2004/2005 series.