Australian white-ball superstar Adam Zampa is in no rush to decide on his Big Bash future, as the T20 league’s player movement window opens on Wednesday.
The 33-year-old leg-spinner remains the competition’s hottest unsigned commodity this BBL|15 off-season, after cross-town rival Glenn Maxwell recommitted to the Melbourne Stars on a two-year deal on Tuesday morning.
Foxsports.com.au understands Zampa is content in taking his time before making a call on his future in the 20-over competition, as a handful of rival clubs chase the Melbourne Renegades bowler.
Watch NZ’s Tour of India: Every ODI & T20 match LIVE & EXCLUSIVE on FOX CRICKET, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
Zampa, who resides in Byron Bay, is open to the idea of moving closer to home after spending more than a decade playing Big Bash cricket for a Victoria-based club.
His 224 international appearances for Australia across ODI and T20I formats alone make Zampa an extremely enticing prospect, and with the Test team’s tour of India set to coincide with BBL|16 next summer, his spin services are even more valuable.
The likes of Matt Kuhnemann (Brisbane Heat), Todd Murphy (Sydney Sixers) and Corey Rocchiccioli (Perth Scorchers replacement player) all firm as spinners likely to be considered for the subcontinent tour, potentially leaving a club such as the Heat without a frontline spinner on its roster.
Scorchers all-rounder Cooper Connolly and Melbourne Stars leg-spinner Mitch Swepson are also among the names who could be pulled from Big Bash duties for the tour, though the latter remains more of an outside chance at this stage.
Australia’s tour of India isn’t just set to impact the future of frontline spinners in the Big Bash either, with reserve wicketkeeper-bat Josh Inglis also remaining uncontracted in the final hours of ‘Deadline Day’.
The 30-year-old has remained loyal to the Scorchers for nine seasons since his debut all the way back in BBL|07, but has notable interest coming from teams on the eastern side of the country willing to offer multi-year deals.
Clubs wanting to lock away out-of-contract players who will be around the Australian set up in 12 months time have been forced to think long and hard about the length of the deals they offer, given there is every chance some pay not play at all for them in BBL|16.
Out west in Sydney, foxsports.com.au can reveal that the Sydney Thunder are at this stage keen on re-signing quick Wes Agar, despite the 28-year-old only featuring at the turn of the new year. Given the imminent embargo on signing players registered at their own club kicking in on Wednesday though, any deal that is agreed upon won’t come straight away though.
At least one other rival is interested in poaching the Melbourne-born pace bowler, who took seven wickets at an average of 17.71 this month.
In Adelaide, out-of-contract strike bowler Henry Thornton is understood to be open to opportunity elsewhere in the 20-over format next summer, after playing just three of the Strikers’ 10 matches in their recent campaign.
Discussion about this post