Indian Premier League 2020: Royal Challengers Bangalore announce signing of Adam Zampa as Kane Richardson replacement

Right-arm leg spinner Zampa will boost RCB's spin department in the slow conditions of the UAE after Kane Richardson had to pull-out of the tournament to be with his wife for the birth of their first child.

Image Credits: Twitter/@ICC

Dubai: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have announced the signing of Australian Right- arm leg-spinner Adam Zampa as a replacement for Kane Richardson in their squad for the upcoming IPL 2020 in the UAE. The 29-year-old fast bowler, Richardson, pulled-out of the tournament to be with his wife for the birth of their first child.

RCB announced the signing from their official Twitter handle:

We’re thrilled to welcome Adam Zampa in RCB colours. He replaces Kane Richardson. Let’s #PlayBold Adam Zampa. #PlayBold #IPL2020 #WeAreChallengers pic.twitter.com/63rnT8SvSV — Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) August 31, 2020

It is quite interesting to note that the Royal Challengers camp have decided to replace Richardson, a pace bowler, with a spinner – Zampa, who is renowned for his classic bowling technique of tossing-up the ball and deceiving the batsman in the flight. The decision is not confounding when the slow pitches and arid conditions of the UAE are taken into account- something which will surely benefit the slow bowlers.

Zampa’s addition to the RCB squad has further boosted their spin-bowling options. The Virat kohli led side already have Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Moeen Ali, Pawan Negi, and the uncapped Shahbaz Ahmed in the spin department.

28-year-old Zampa is not new to the IPL atmosphere and the eye-balls that it draws after having represented the now defunct Rising Pune Supergiant franchise in 2016 and 2017. Zampa has played 11 IPL matches, grasping 19 wickets at a decent economy rate of 7.55. The Australian also has a five-wicket haul to his name- when he picked-up 6/19 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016.

Zampa’s action and technique drew immediate comparisons to Australian legend Shane Warne as he broke through into the Australian side in 2016. The wily spinner from New South Wales has won 55 caps in ODI’s and 30 in T20I’s accounting for 75 and 33 wickets respectively.

IPL 2020 is all set to begin from September 19, with the final scheduled to take place on November 10. The 13th edition of the IPL will take place in the UAE across three venues- Sharjah , Dubai and Abu Dhabi.