Australia’s T20I series against India starts on October 29, and leg-spinner Adam Zampa will miss out at the beginning due to personal reasons he’s expecting his second child with wife Harriet. Replacing him is the 23-year-old leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha, who has been summoned to be part of the team.
Impact of Zampa’s Absence
Zampa’s absence would be a huge setback for Australia. He is Australia’s leading wicket-taker in men’s T20Is with 131 scalps in 106 games at a average of 21.38. His guile and match-winning potential have been the cornerstone of Australia’s spin bowling in the last few years.
Sangha, though promising, has played only seven T20Is, picking 10 wickets at a career average of 24.90 and claiming a four-wicket match in South Africa in 2023. He now plays for the Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League and is being considered the next big spin hope for the country.
Tanveer Sangha’s Recent Form
Sangha has been in great recent touch. He took seven wickets during the Australia A series in India and is now top of New South Wales’ One Day Cup bowling list with 10 wickets from four games. The selectors are said to be contemplating a spin-combination of Sangha with Matthew Kuhnemann to cover for Zampa’s absence and make the attack more potent before the T20 World Cup.
Australia vs India ODI Series
Prior to this T20I series, India and Australia contested a very exciting 3-match ODI series that Australia won 2–1. The tourists swept the first two ODIs, while India responded strongly in the third ODI, winning it by an emphatic nine wickets due to a magnificent unbeaten 121 by Rohit Sharma and 74* by Virat Kohli. The series proved to be good practice for both teams as they now focus on the shortest form of the game.
India and Australia Squads for IND vs AUS T20Is
India Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Verma, Shivam Dubey, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar.
Australia Squad: Mitch Marsh (c), Travis Head, Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Tim David, Ben Dwarshis, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis (wk), Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitchell Owen, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa(Replaced by Tanveer Sangha)
